Abstract
Magnetic micro- and nanogranular materials prepared by different methods have been used widely in studies of magnetooptical response. However, among them there seems to be nothing about magnetic nanogranular thin films prepared by a rf cosputtering technique for both metals and insulators till now. This paper presented and discussed preparation, structural characteristics, and magnetic properties of alumina (Al2O3) matrix-based granular Co-cermet thin films deposited by means of the cosputtering technique for both Co and Al2O3. By varying the ferromagnetic (Co) atomic fraction, x, from 0.04 to 0.63, several dominant features of deposition for these thin films were shown. Structural characteristics by X-ray diffraction confirmed a cermet-type structure for these films. Furthermore, magnetic behaviours presented a transition from paramagnetic- to superparamagnetic- and then to ferromagnetic-like properties, indicating agglomeration and growth following Co components of Co clusters or nanoparticles. These results show a typical granular Co-cermet feature for the Co-Al2O3 thin films prepared, in which Co magnetic nanogranules are dispersed in a ceramic matrix. Such nanomaterials can be applied suitably for our investigations in future on the magnetooptical responses of spinplasmonics.
Highlights
Cermet, or ceramic metal, is a kind of composite material in which many component phases coexist
Co contents with x = 0.04–0.63, which correspond with 4–63 Co at%, were determined via energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and the morphology of the film surfaces was observed via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) by using JEOL JSM-541
The Co-Al2O3 thin films were deposited via cosputtering from a combined target including different Co (ACo) and Al2O3 (AAl2O3 ) areas that have different sputtering rates, such as 190 and 40 A /s, respectively [15]
Summary
Ceramic metal, is a kind of composite material in which many component phases coexist. Some kinds of nanomaterials for the magnetic photonics or plasmonic resonance studies were fabricated using different techniques, such as sol-gel method for magnetic photonic crystals based on Fe3O4 nanoparticles [12], spray pyrolysis technique for Au nanoclusters embedded in titania (TiO2) matrix [13], and thermal evaporation method and annealed at high temperature for Au nanoparticles [14], and so forth. Based on those studies, we were motivated to prepare Al2O3 matrix-based Co-cermet MGF materials using rf cosputtering technique. We report on the preparation and analysis of several typical characteristics of deposition and the structural and magnetic properties of Co-Al2O3 cermet films as a function of Co content
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