Preparation of iron cobaltite thin films by RF magnetron sputtering

Hoa Le Trong (1, 2, 3) , Thi Mai Anh Bui (1, 4) , Lionel Presmanes (1) , Antoine Barnabé (1) , Isabelle Pasquet (1) , Corine Bonningue (1) , Philippe Tailhades (1)

1 CIRIMAT - Centre interuniversitaire de recherche et d'ingenierie des matériaux
2 Vietnam National University - VNU (VIETNAM)
3 HCMUS - Ho Chi Minh City University of Science
4 University of Transport and Communications - UTC (VIETNAM)

Iron cobaltite thin films with spinel structure have been elaborated by radio-frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering from a Co1.75Fe1.25O4 target. Influence of argon pressure on structure, microstructure and physical properties of films has been examined. Iron–cobalt oxide thin films essentially consist of one spinel phase when deposited at low pressure (0.5 and 1.0 Pa). At high pressure (2.0 Pa), the global stoichiometry of the film is changed which results in the precipitation of a mixed monoxide of cobalt and iron beside the spinel phase. This in-situ reduction due to an oxygen loss occurring mainly at high deposition pressure has been revealed by X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. Microstructural evolution of thin film with argon pressure has been shown by microscopic observations (AFM and SEM). The evolution of magnetic and electrical properties, versus argon pressure, has been also studied by SQUID and 4 point probe measurements.

Mots clés: Thin film; Sputtering; Cobaltite; Spinel oxide; Magnetic coupling; Exchange field; Monoxide; In-situ reduction

Domaines: Matériaux; Matériaux

Hoa Le Trong, Thi Mai Anh Bui, Lionel Presmanes, Antoine Barnabé, Isabelle Pasquet, et al.. Preparation of iron cobaltite thin films by RF magnetron sputtering. Thin Solid Films, 2015, vol. 589, pp. 292-297. ⟨10.1016/j.tsf.2015.05.041⟩. ⟨hal-01168678⟩