Structural and magnetic properties of Fe doped CeO2 thin films

Abstract

Pure and Ce0.95Fe0.05O2 thin films have been fabricated on LaAlO3 (100) substrate using pulsed laser deposition techniques at 200mTorr oxygen partial pressure and then characterized by various techniques viz. X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, NEXAFS, and dc- magnetization measurements to explore the structural and magnetic properties of pure and Fe doped CeO2 thin films. The XRD patterns indicate that pure and Ce0.95Fe0.05O2 films have single phase polycrystalline behavior. The surface roughness measured using AFM microscopy found to decrease with Fe doping and revealed that both the films are nanocrystalline. The electronic structure measured at Fe L3,2 edge infer that Fe-ions in mixed valence states (Fe3+ and Fe2+) in Fe doped CeO2film. DC-magnetization measurements showed that pure and Fe doped CeO2 films have ferromagnetic ordering at room temperature.