Magnetic properties and microstructure of Fe-O and Co-O thin films

Abstract

Iron oxide and cobalt oxide thin films were prepared by reactive DC magnetron sputtering in a mixture of Ar and O/sub 2/ gases. The stoichiometry of the oxide films was studied as a function of the amount of O/sub 2/ during deposition. Sputtering conditions, including dc power and oxygen-to-argon ratio, were found which allowed pure FeO, Fe/sub 3/O/sub 4/, /spl alpha/-Fe/sub 2/O/sub 3/, CoO, and Co/sub 3/O/sub 4/ films to be fabricated. The microstructure of the films, and especially the grain shape and size distribution, were quite different for oxide films with different stoichiometry. The crystallographic axes of Fe-O films were randomly oriented in contrast to Co-O films in which a strong texture was found. A strong ferromagnetic-like behavior was observed in FeO and /spl alpha/-Fe/sub 2/O/sub 3/ films, in contrast to the well-established antiferromagnetic behavior in bulk. The reason for this anomalous behavior is attributed to clusters of defects in FeO films and uncompensated surface spins in /spl alpha/-Fe/sub 2/O/sub 3/ films. A large shift (3800 Oe) was observed in the low temperature hysteresis loop of a field cooled sample consisting of 50% Co and 50% CoO. A similar but less pronounced effect was observed in FeO and /spl alpha/-Fe/sub 2/O/sub 3/ films. This result is believed to be caused by a strong exchange coupling between the ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic constituents in these composite films.