Barium ferrite thin films with faceted grains fabricated by using ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid

Abstract

Abstract Barium ferrite films were prepared by spin-coating of gels on sapphire (0 0 l) faces. Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid was used to bind the metal ions. Thin films prepared by this method show faceted hexagonal grains with c-axis normal to the film plane and [1 1 0] sapphire ||[1 0 0] film. Needle-like grains, which have c-axis in the film plane, are minimized. Epitaxial growth of the film can be observed by the high resolution images. Reduction of the a and c-axis of the film compared with those of the bulk materials is confirmed both in real space and reciprocal space. Magnetic hysteresis loops were recorded in-plane and out-of-plane. The film shows uniaxial anisotropy as exemplified by branched domains with coercivity field of 87.6 kA/m along the in-plane direction and of 302.5 kA/m along the out-of-plane direction.