Formation of a magnetite/hematite epitaxial bilayer generated with low energy ion bombardment

We have used a low-energy ion bombardment to fabricate an epitaxial single-crystalline magnetite/hematite bilayer grown on Au(111). This non-conventional fabrication method involves the transformation of the upper layers of a single-crystalline hematite thin film to single-crystalline magnetite, a p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied physics letters 2017-02, Vol.110 (9)
Main Authors: Ruiz-Gómez, S., Serrano, A., Carabias, I., García, M. A., Hernando, A., Mascaraque, A., Pérez, L., González Barrio, M. A., Rodríguez de la Fuente, O.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied physics
Bilayers
Coercivity
Crystal structure
Crystallinity
Epitaxial growth
Hematite
Ion bombardment
Magnetic properties
Magnetite
Oxygen atoms
Phase matching
Single crystals
Thin films
Transformations
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Summary:We have used a low-energy ion bombardment to fabricate an epitaxial single-crystalline magnetite/hematite bilayer grown on Au(111). This non-conventional fabrication method involves the transformation of the upper layers of a single-crystalline hematite thin film to single-crystalline magnetite, a process driven by the preferential sputtering of oxygen atoms and favoured by the good structural matching of both phases. We show the reversibility of the transformation between hematite and magnetite, always keeping the epitaxial and single-crystalline character of the films. The magnetic characterization of the bilayer grown using this method shows that the magnetic response is mainly determined by the magnetite thin film, exhibiting a high coercivity.
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118
DOI:10.1063/1.4977491