Magnetic and electronic properties of the interface between half metallic Fe 3 O 4 and semiconducting ZnO

We have investigated the magnetic depth profile of an epitaxial Fe 3 O 4 thin film grown directly on a semiconducting ZnO substrate by soft x-ray resonant magnetic reflectometry (XRMR) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). Consistent chemical profiles at the interface between ZnO and Fe 3 O...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied physics letters 2012-02, Vol.100 (8), p.081603-081603-4
Main Authors: Brück, S., Paul, M., Tian, H., Müller, A., Kufer, D., Praetorius, C., Fauth, K., Audehm, P., Goering, E., Verbeeck, J., Van Tendeloo, G., Sing, M., Claessen, R.
Format: Article
Language:
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We have investigated the magnetic depth profile of an epitaxial Fe 3 O 4 thin film grown directly on a semiconducting ZnO substrate by soft x-ray resonant magnetic reflectometry (XRMR) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). Consistent chemical profiles at the interface between ZnO and Fe 3 O 4 are found from both methods. Valence selective EELS and XRMR reveal independently that the first monolayer of Fe at the interface between ZnO and Fe 3 O 4 contains only Fe 3+ ions. Besides this narrow 2.5Å interface layer, Fe 3 O 4 shows magnetic bulk properties throughout the whole film making highly efficient spin injection in this system feasible.
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118
DOI:10.1063/1.3687731