Liquid Phase Deposition of Transition Metal Ferrite Thin Films: Synthesis and Magnetic Properties |
Caruntu Gabriel , O'Connor Charles J. |
Advanced Materials Research Institute, Chemistry Department, University of New Orleans |
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ABSTRACT |
We report on the synthesis of highly uniform, single phase zinc and cobalt thin films prepared by the Liquid Phase Deposition (LPD) method. X-Ray diffraction, TGA and EDX measurements support the assumption that the as deposited films are constituted by a mixture of crystallized FeOOH and amorphous M(OH)$_2$ (M=Co, Zn) which is converted upon heat treatment in air at 600?C into the corresponding zinc ferrites. The films with adjustable chemical compositions are identified with a crystal structure as spinel-type and present a spherical or rod-like microstructure, depending on the both the nature and concentration of the divalent transition metal ions. Zinc ferrite thin films present a superparamagnetic behavior above blocking temperatures which decrease with increasing the Zn content and are ferromagnetic at 5 K with coercivities ranging between 797.8 and 948.5 Oe, whereas the cobalt ferrite films are ferromagnetic at room temperature with magnetic characteristics strongly dependent on the chemical composition. |
Key words:
Ferrite, Thin film, Synthesis, Magnetic properties |
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