Abstract
Heteroepitaxial spinel ferrites NiFe2O4 and CoFe2O4 films have been prepared by pulsed laser deposition at various temperatures (175–690 °C) under ozone/oxygen pressure of 10 mTorr. Due to enhanced kinetic energy of ablated species at low pressure and enhanced oxidation power of ozone, epitaxy has been achieved at significantly lower temperatures than previously reported. Films grown at temperature below 550 °C show a novel growth mode, which we term “vertical step-flow” growth mode. Epitaxial spinel ferrite films with atomically flat surface over large areas and enhanced magnetic moment can be routinely obtained. Interestingly, the growth mode is independent of the nature of substrate (spinel MgAl2O4, perovskite SrTiO3, and rock-salt MgO) and film thickness. The underlying growth mechanism is discussed.
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