X-ray reciprocal space mapping analysis of ferromagnetic GdN films grown by pulsed laser epitaxy

Abstract

Epitaxial thin films of ferromagnetic rare-earth nitride, GdN, were synthesized using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) on (001) MgO, pseudo-cubic (001) YAlO3, and (001) TiN buffered (001) MgO substrates. X-ray high-resolution reciprocal space mappings confirmed the epitaxial relationship between GdN and the substrates. The use of a TiN buffer layer changed the growth direction of the GdN films from (001) to (111). The ferromagnetic behavior of the films was characterized, and it was found that the magnetic easy axis could be tuned according to the crystal growth direction. These results suggest that PLD is a viable method for synthesizing epitaxial GdN films with tunable magnetic properties. The ability to control the crystal growth direction and magnetic easy axis of GdN films could be useful for developing spintronic devices.