Epitaxial growth of spinel cobalt ferrite films on MgAl2O4 substrates by direct liquid injection chemical vapor deposition

• Published in: Journal of crystal growth Vol. 390; pp. 61 - 66
• Main Authors: Shen, Liming, Althammer, Matthias, Pachauri, Neha, Loukya, B., Datta, Ranjan, Iliev, Milko, Bao, Ningzhong, Gupta, Arunava
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 15.03.2014; Elsevier
• Subjects: A3. Chemical vapor deposition; B1. Cobalt ferrite; B1. Inverse spinel; B2. Magnetic materials; B2. Multiferroic composites; Chemical vapor deposition (including plasma-enhanced cvd, mocvd, etc.); Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Dielectric, piezoelectric, ferroelectric and antiferroelectric materials; Dielectrics, piezoelectrics, and ferroelectrics and their properties; Exact sciences and technology; Materials science; Methods of crystal growth; physics of crystal growth; Methods of deposition of films and coatings; film growth and epitaxy; Niobates, titanates, tantalates, pzt ceramics, etc; Physics; Structure of solids and liquids; crystallography; Structure of specific crystalline solids; Theory and models of crystal growth; physics of crystal growth, crystal morphology and orientation; A3. Chemical vapor deposition; B1. Cobalt ferrite; B2. Multiferroic composites; B1. Inverse spinel; B2. Magnetic materials; Epitaxial layers; Epitaxy; Niobates; Titanates; Lattice parameters; Raman spectroscopy; Cobalt; Zinc; Thin films; CVD; Composite materials; Piezoelectric materials; Spinels; Growth mechanism; Magnetic materials; Magnesium; Saturation magnetization; Magnetic properties; Crystal structure
• ISSN: 0022-0248; 1873-5002
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2013.12.012

The direct liquid injection chemical vapor deposition (DLI-CVD) technique has been used for the growth of cobalt ferrite (CFO) films on (100)-oriented MgAl2O4 (MAO) substrates. Smooth and highly epitaxial cobalt ferrite thin films, with the epitaxial relationship MAO(100)[001]∥CFO(100)[001], are obtained under optimized deposition conditions. The films exhibit bulk-like structural and magnetic properties with an out-of-plane lattice constant of 8.370Å and a saturation magnetization of 420kA/m at room temperature. The Raman spectra of films on MgAl2O4 support the fact that the Fe3+- and the Co2+-ions are distributed in an ordered fashion on the B-site of the inverse spinel structure. The DLI-CVD technique has been extended for the growth of smooth and highly oriented cobalt ferrite thin films on a variety of other substrates, including MgO, and piezoelectric lead magnesium niobate–lead titanate and lead zinc niobate–lead titanate substrates. •Growth of cobalt ferrite via direct liquid injection chemical vapor deposition.•Narrow growth window for smooth and epitaxial films, with bulk-like properties.•Ordering of Fe3+ and Co2+ on the B-site extracted from Raman studies.•Deposition method allows epitaxial growth on a variety of substrates.