Effect of annealing conditions on structural and magnetic properties of laser ablated copper ferrite thin films

The effect of annealing conditions on structural and magnetic properties of copper ferrite thin films on (100) Si substrates was examined in detail. After deposition, the ferrite thin films were post-annealed in vacuum and in oxygen atmosphere for several hours. It is found that the crystal structure of CuFe₂O₄ thin films changed drastically depending on different heating process. A maximum magnetization was achieved in the film that was vacuum annealed and it decreased remarkably after oxygen annealing.     

Magnetic properties of substituted strontium ferrite nanoparticles and thin films

SrFe_12−x(Zr_0.5Mg_0.5)_xO₁₉ nanoparticles and thin films with x=0-2.5 were synthesized by a sol-gel method on thermally oxidized silicon wafer (Si/SiO₂). Structural and magnetic characteristics of synthesized samples were studied employing x-rays diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), magnetic susceptometer, atomic force microscopy (AFM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). TEM micrographs display that the narrow size distribution of ferrite nanoparticles with average particle size of 50 nm were fabricated. Fitting obtained data of effective magnetic susceptibility by Vogel-Fulcher law confirms the existence of strong magnetic interaction among fine particles. XRD patterns and FE-SEM micrographs demonstrated that single phase c-axis hexagonal ferrite films with rather narrow grain size distribution were obtained. AFM micrographs exhibited that the surface roughness increases with an increase in Zr-Mg content. It was found from the VSM graphs that with an increase in substitution contents the coercivity decreases, while the saturation of magnetization increases. The Henkle plots confirms the existence of exchange coupling among nano-grain in ferrite thin films.     

Influence of copper cations on the magnetic properties of NiCuZn ferrite nanoparticles

Ni_0.6−xCu_xZn_0.4Fe₂O₄ (x=0-0.5) ferrite nanoparticles were prepared, employing a reverse micelle process. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy evaluations demonstrated that single phase spinel ferrites with narrow size distribution were obtained. Vibrating sample magnetometer was employed to probe the magnetic properties of the samples. It was found that with an increase in copper content, the saturation magnetization decreases. Magnetic dynamics of the samples was studied by measuring a.c. magnetic susceptibility versus temperature at different frequencies. The phenomenological Néel-Brown and Vogel-Fulcher models were employed to distinguish between the interacting or non-interacting systems. The system exhibits that there is strong interaction among fine particles.     

Cationic behavior and the related magnetic and magnetotransport properties of manganese ferrite thin films

Manganese ferrite (Mn_xFe_3−xO₄) thin films have been prepared by a sol–gel method. The samples (x≤1.25) are polycrystalline containing well-defined grains and maintain cubic spinel structure with increasing lattice constant with x. The substituting Mn ions were found to have multi-valence, +2 and +3, by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The saturation magnetization of the Mn-substituted films measured by vibrating sample magnetometry was found to increase from that of Fe₃O₄ at low x and then gradually decreases as x increases further. Such magnetic behavior can be explained in terms of the dominance of Mn²⁺ species over Mn³⁺ at low x and the gradual decrease in the population ratio Mn²⁺/Mn³⁺ as x increases. The observed decrease in the coercivity with increasing x implies the increase in octahedral Mn²⁺ population. The Mn-substituted samples exhibit magnetoresistance (MR) effect the maximum intensity of which is gradually reduced with x from that of Fe₃O₄. All samples show increasing MR with increasing external field (H), while their magnetization curves start to saturate near H=2 kOe. Such increasing MR with H can be explained in terms of the tunneling of spin-polarized carriers across grain boundaries. The reduction in the MR intensity with x can be partly explained in terms of the decrease in spin-polarized carrier density associated with octahedral occupation of Mn²⁺ ions.     

Room temperature single-step electrosynthesized copper ferrite thin films and study of their magnetic properties

A single-step electrosynthesis of copper ferrite thin films from aqueous bath (which avoids anodization step for an incorporation of oxygen species into deposit) has been carried out at room temperature. Observed tetrahedral structured nanocrystalline copper ferrite thin films showed smooth, uniform and compact surface morphology. After annealing, increase in dielectric constant and reduced dielectric loss were observed. The saturation magnetization for annealed films was 292 emu/cm³ comparable to that of other reported ferrites.     

Correlation between site preference and magnetic properties of substituted strontium ferrite thin films

SrFe_12−x(Sn_0.5Zn_0.5)_xO₁₉ thin films with x=0−5 were synthesized by a sol-gel method on thermally oxidized silicon wafer (Si/SiO₂). The site preference and magnetic properties of Zn-Sn substituted strontium ferrite thin films were studied using ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy and magnetic measurements. Mössbauer spectra displayed that the Zn-Sn ions preferentially occupy the 2b and 4f₂ sites. The preference for these sites is responsible for the anomalous increase in the magnetization at high Zn-Sn substitutions. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns and field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) micrographs demonstrated that single phase c-axis hexagonal ferrite films with rather narrow grain size distribution were obtained. Vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) was employed to probe magnetic properties of samples. The maximum saturation of magnetization and coercivity at perpendicular direction were 265 emu/g and 6.3 kOe, respectively. It was found that the complex susceptibility has linear variation with static magnetic field.     

Preparation and characterization of ZnSn-substituted barium ferrite thin films

The preparation of ZnSn-substituted barium ferrite films by sputtering deposition was studied. The as-sputtered films were amorphous, and annealing at a minimum of 750 °C was required to crystallize the films, based on the X-ray diffraction analysis and the magnetic measurements. Scanning electron microscopy combined with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopic microanalysis confirmed that the films were single phase with the composition BaZn_xSn_xFe_12−2xO₁₉, x=0.2−0.3, and their thicknesses were 0.4-1.0 μm when annealed at 750-900 °C. Atomic and magnetic force microscopy studies showed no significant grain growth upon annealing and that the films consisted of single-domain grains forming interaction-cluster-type domains. The natural ferromagnetic resonance frequency was determined at around 4 GHz, together with substantial magnetic losses that make these films promising candidates for microwave absorbers.     

Effect of stress in copper ferrite thin films

Cubic copper ferrite thin films, obtained by rf sputtering on quartz and subsequent post-annealing and quenching, show a large coercivity of about 300–600 Oe. Stress measurements using X-ray diffraction show high value of stress of about 400–1000 MPa. Both the stress and coercivity are found to increase with the decrease of the thickness of the films. There appears to be a contribution of the stress to the coercivity of the films, in the in-plane M–H loops.     

Chemically deposited copper oxide thin films: structural, optical and electrical characteristics

Thin films of copper oxide with thickness ranging from 0.05–0.45 μm were deposited on microscope glass slides by successively dipping them for 20 s each in a solution of 1 M NaOH and then in a solution of copper complex. Temperature of the NaOH solution was varied from 50–90°C, while that of the copper solution was maintained at room temperature. X-ray diffraction patterns showed that the films, as prepared, are of cuprite structure with composition Cu₂O. Annealing the films in air at 350°C converts these films to CuO. This conversion is accompanied by a shift in the optical band gap from 2.1 eV (direct) to 1.75 eV (direct). The films show p-type conductivity, 5×10⁻⁴ Ω⁻¹ cm⁻¹ for a film of thickness 0.15 μm. Electrical conductivity of this film increases by a factor of 3 when illuminated with 1 kW m⁻² tungsten halogen radiation. Annealing in a nitrogen atmosphere at temperatures up to 400°C does not change the composition of the films. However, the conductivity in the dark as well as the photoconductivity of the film increases by an order of magnitude. The electrical conductivity of the CuO thin films produced by air annealing at 400°C, is high, 7×10⁻³ Ω⁻¹ cm⁻¹. These films are also photoconductive.     

Structure and magnetic properties of Co-substituted NiZn ferrite thin films synthesized by the sol-gel process

Co-substituted NiZn ferrite thin films, Ni_0.5Zn_0.5Co_xFe_2−xO₄ (0≤x≤0.2), were synthesized by the sol-gel process. The structure and magnetic properties of Ni_0.5Zn_0.5Co_xFe_2−xO₄ ferrite thin films have been investigated. The diffraction peak shifted towards the lower angle and the lattice parameter increased with Co substitution. There is little influence of Co substitution on the microstructure of NiZn ferrite thin films. The saturation magnetization gradually increases with the increase in Co substitution when x≤0.10, and decreases when x>0.10. Meanwhile, the coercivity initially decreases with the increase in Co substitution when x≤0.10, and increases when x>0.10.     

Co-based nanogranular thin films on flexible substrate for gigahertz applications

The Co-based granular thin films were deposited on the flexible substrate (Kapton) by magnetron sputtering. The films comprise of Co nanocrystallites and small amount of amorphous (Al,O)-rich inter-granular phase and have the electric resistivities in the range 50–120 μΩ cm, depending on the composition and thickness. The as-deposited films with thickness <80 nm have low coercivity (<20 Oe along hard direction), high permeability (up to 500) and resonance frequency up to 2.5 GHz. Compared to the rigid films, the flexible films have relatively higher coercivity and lower resonance frequency. A comparison between Co-based granular films and FeTaN continuous films has also been discussed.     

Temperature dependent coercivity and magnetization of nickel ferrite nanoparticles

Magnetic nanoparticles of nickel ferrite (size: 24±4 nm) have been synthesized by chemical coprecipitation method using stable ferric and nickel salts. Coercivity of nanoparticles has been found to increase with decrease in temperature of the samples. It has been observed that the coercivity follows a simple model of thermal activation of particle’s moment over the anisotropy barrier in the temperature range (10-300 K), in accordance with Kneller’s law for ferromagnetic materials. Saturation magnetization follows the modified Bloch’s law in the temperature range from 300 to 50 K. However, below 50 K, an abrupt increase in magnetization of nanoparticles was observed. This increase in magnetization at lower temperatures was explained with reference to the presence of freezed surface-spins and some paramagnetic impurities at the shell of nanoparticles that are activated at lower temperatures in core-shell nickel ferrite nanoparticles.     

Preparation, and magnetic and electromagnetic properties of La-doped strontium ferrite films

SrLa_xFe_12−xO₁₉ films (x=0-1.0) with large magneto-crystalline anisotropy were synthesized on SiO₂ substrate by sol-gel and self-propagating high-temperature synthesis technique. The films were characterized by various experimental techniques including X-ray diffraction analysis, Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope, Atomic Force Microscopy, Vibrating Sample Magnetometry and vector network analyzer. The results show that La ions completely enter into strontium ferrite lattice without changing the ferrite appearance; its grain size is approximately 40-80 nm, its length is 100 nm; the magnetoplumbite structure is proved through testing a concertina form of the crystal grain; the maximum coercivity is 5986 Oe at x=0.2; La-doped films possess a wider microwave absorption frequency range with better gross loss angle tangent (tan δ>0.1), from 9 to 10.5 GHz at x=0.2, where the maximum value of tan δ reaches 0.2709. The La-doped films reach smaller nanometer size, better magnetic properties and microwave absorption properties with the doping of lanthanum.     

Epitaxial perovskite oxide thin films on Ba(Ti,Zr)O3 substrates for strain-induced electric/magnetic property changes near room temperature

We have reported the epitaxial growth and the electric/magnetic properties of SrRuO₃ and (La_0.67Sr_0.33)MnO₃ thin films on Ba(Ti_0.925Zr_0.075)O₃ substrates. The dielectric constant and thermal expansion of Ba(Ti_0.925Zr_0.075)O₃ exhibited hysteretic jumps at the structural transition temperatures. Near the rhombohedral to orthorhombic structural transition temperature of Ba(Ti_0.925Zr_0.075)O₃, which occurs at ∼33 °C, we have observed a drastic jump of resistivity and magnetization of the thin films. These results suggest that epitaxial perovskite oxide thin films on Ba(Ti_0.925Zr_0.075)O₃ substrates should be quite useful for the strain-induced changes of physical properties near room temperature.     

Nanostructured cathode thin films with vertically-aligned nanopores for thin film SOFC and their characteristics

Nanostructured cathode thin films with vertically-aligned nanopores (VANP) were processed using a pulsed laser deposition technique (PLD). These VANP structures enhance the oxygen-gas phase diffusivity, thus improve the overall thin film SOFC performance. La_0.5Sr_0.5CoO₃ (LSCO) and La_0.4Sr_0.6Co_0.8Fe_0.2O₃ (LSCFO) were deposited on various substrates (YSZ, Si and pressed Ce_0.9Gd_0.1O_1.95 disks). Microstructures and properties of the nanostructured cathodes were characterized by TEM, HRTEM, SEM and electrochemical measurements. Additionally these well-aligned VANP structures relieve or partially relieve the internal thermal stress and lattice strain caused by the differences of thermal expansion coefficients and lattice mismatch between the electrode and the electrolyte.     

Remarkable influence of carbon nanotubes on microwave absorption characteristics of strontium ferrite/CNT nanocomposites

In this research work, magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) nanocomposites have been created by the assembly of Zn-Sn substituted strontium ferrite film onto the surface of MWCNTs. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy were used to demonstrate the successful attachment of ferrite films to MWCNTs. Mössbauer spectroscopy indicates that the Zn-Sn ions preferentially occupy the 2b and 4f₂ sites. Vibrating sample magnetometry confirms the relatively strong dependence of saturation magnetization with the volume percentage of MWCNTs. Microwave absorption of the MWCNTs/doped strontium ferrite nanocomposites is evidently enhanced compared to that of pure MWCNTs and ferrite. The maximum reflection loss increased significantly with an increase in volume percentage of MWCNTs in nanocomposites. Reflection loss evaluations indicated that the nanocomposites display a great potential application as wide-band electromagnetic wave absorbers.     

Superspin glass state in MnFe2O4 nanoparticles

Nanosized MnFe₂O₄ ferrites were synthesized by a simple method, which is based on the solid state ball-milling and calcinations of nitrate precursors and citric acid. The samples were characterized by using different methods. The results indicate that the products mainly consist of MnFe₂O₄ nanoparticles. The effect of different annealing temperatures on particle sizes and crystallinity of the samples was also studied. By increasing the particle size, the coercivity and magnetization of the samples increase. The increase of magnetization by increasing the crystallite size could be attributed to the lower surface spin canting and surface spin disorder of the larger magnetic nanoparticles. Our analysis of ac susceptibility measurements shows that the interparticle magnetic interaction leads to the superspin glass-like behavior in these nanoparticle samples.     

The influence of doping element on structural and luminescent characteristics of ZnS thin films

For the fabrication of green and blue emitting ZnS structures the elements of I, III, and VII groups (Cu, Al, Ga, Cl) are used as dopants. The influence of type of impurity, doping technique, and type of substrate on crystalline structure and surface morphology together with luminescent properties was investigated. The doping of thin films was realized during the growth process and/or post-deposition thermal treatment. ZnS thin films were deposited by physical (EBE) and chemical (MOCVD) methods onto glass or ceramic (BaTiO₃) substrates. Closed spaced evaporation and thermodiffusion methods were used for the post-deposition doping of ZnS films. X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and measurements of photoluminescent (PL) spectra were used for the investigations. It was shown that the doping by the elements of I (Cu) and III (Al, Ga) groups does not change the crystal structure during the thermal treatment up to 1000 C, whereas simultaneous use of the elements of I (Cu) and VII (Cl) groups leads to decrease of the phase transition temperature to 800 C. The presence of impurities in the growth process leads to a grain size increase. At post-deposition treatment Ga and Cl act as activators of recrystallization process. The transition of ZnS sphalerite lattice to wurtzite one leads to the displacement of the blue emission band position towards the short-wavelength range by 10 nm.     

Synthesis and characterization of manganese ferrite nanoparticles by thermal treatment method

Cubic structured manganese ferrite nanoparticles were synthesized by a thermal treatment method followed by calcination at various temperatures from 723 to 873 K. In this investigation, we used polyvinyl pyrrolidon (PVP) as a capping agent to control the agglomeration of the nanoparticles. The characterization studies were conducted by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The average particle sizes of manganese ferrite nanoparticles were determined by TEM, which increased with the calcination temperature from 12 to 22 nm and they had good agreement with XRD results. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed the presence of metal oxide bands at all temperatures and the absence of organic bands at 873 K. Magnetic properties were demonstrated by a vibrating sample magnetometer, which showed a super-paramagnetic behavior for all samples and also saturation magnetization (M_s) increases from 3.06 to 15.78 emu/g by increasing the calcination temperature. The magnetic properties were also confirmed by the use of electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, which revealed the existence of unpaired electrons and also measured peak-to-peak line width, resonant magnetic field and the g-factor.     

Structural and magnetic characteristics of Co1−xNix/2Srx/2Fe2O4 nanoparticles

Co_1−xNi_x/2Sr_x/2Fe₂O₄ (x=0–0.5 in steps of 0.1) ferrite nanoparticles have been synthesized at room temperature, without calcination, using a reverse micelle process. The site preference was determined by Mössbauer spectroscopy at 300 K. The hyperfine parameters were obtained, for the whole series of solid solutions. For the X≤0.20 samples, the spectra were fitted with two discrete sextets and for the X>0.20 samples, a magnetic hyperfine field distribution and a doublet were also imposed in the fit procedure. Hysteresis loops were measured using a superconducting quantum interference device magnetometer at 2 K and 300 K. The results indicate that the relative decrease in saturation magnetization of nanoparticles compared to the submicron particles could be attributed to a surface spin termination and disorder. Magnetic dynamics of the nanoparticles was studied by the measurement of ac magnetic susceptibility versus temperature at different frequencies and it is found that the results are well described by the Vogel–Fulcher model.