Abstract
Three single-crystal Mn3O4 thin films were grown on MgAl2O4 (001) substrates by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PA-MBE). The films with different thicknesses are found to be compressed in the (001) plane and elongated in the perpendicular direction at different levels via in situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) and ex situ X-ray diffraction. Magnetic measurements indicate that either of the two thicker films owns smaller spontaneous magnetization, larger coercive force, and higher phase transition temperature than the bulk single-crystal Mn3O4 material. On the contrary, it is noteworthy that the thinnest film exerts different characteristics with smaller coercive force and lower phase transition temperature than the bulk. The variation of magnetic properties for the films are proposed to be related to the combined effects of the lattice distortion under epitaxial stress, strain relaxation with the generation of defects and dislocations, and surface roughness, which could influe...
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