Growth of (Ni,Zn)Fe2O4 Thin Films by Liquid Delivery Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition

Abstract

AbstractNi,Zn-ferrite (NZF) thin films are of interest for high frequency applications because of their high saturation magnetization compared to garnet films and their low eddy current losses compared to metal alloy films. Therefore there is an increasing need for methods to deposit single crystal ferrite thin films for incorporation into next generation microwave devices.Epitaxial thin films of NZF have been deposited by liquid delivery metal-organic chemical vapor deposition onto (100) oriented MgO substrates. The morphology, orientation and magnetic properties of the as-deposited films were investigated as a function of deposition temperature and pressure. X-ray diffraction (XRD) reveals highly oriented films with a film strain of 1.01% compared to bulk lattice parameters. Films with well saturated magnetic hysteresis were obtained under a number of conditions with values of saturation magnetization up to 270 emu/cc (3400 gauss) with relatively low coercive fields ~100 Oe. The influence of metal cation ratio on magnetic properties is discussed.