This report is on the nature of strain in thin films of yttrium iron garnet (YIG) on yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) substrates due to film-substrate lattice mismatch and the resulting induced magnetic anisotropy. Films with thickness 55 nm to 380 nm were deposited on (100), (110), and (111) YAG substrates using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) techniques and characterized by structural and magnetic characterization techniques. The in-plane strain determined to be compressive using X-ray diffraction (XRD). It varied from −0.12% to −0.98% and increased in magnitude with increasing film thickness and was relatively large in films on (100) YAG. The out-of-plane strain was tensile and also increased with increasing film thickness. The estimated strain-induced magnetic anisotropy field, found from XRD data, was out of plane; its value increased with film thickness and ranged from 0.47 kOe to 3.96 kOe. Ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) measurements at 5 to 21 GHz also revealed the presence of a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy that decreased with increasing film thickness and its values were smaller than values obtained from XRD data. The PLD YIG films on YAG substrates exhibiting a perpendicular anisotropy field have the potential for use in self-biased sensors and high-frequency devices.
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Strain induced anisotropy in liquid phase epitaxy grown nickel ferrite on magnesium gallate substrates
Abstract This work focuses on the nature of magnetic anisotropy in 2.5–16 micron thick films of nickel ferrite (NFO) grown by liquid phase epitaxy (LPE). The technique, ideal for rapid growth of epitaxial oxide films, was utilized for films on (100) and (110) substrates of magnesium gallate (MGO). The motivation was to investigate the dependence of the growth induced anisotropy field on film thickness since submicron films of NFO were reported to show a very high anisotropy. The films grown at 850–875 C and subsequently annealed at 1000 C were found to be epitaxial, with the out-of-plane lattice constant showing unanticipated decrease with increasing film thickness and the estimated in-plane lattice constant increasing with the film thickness. The uniaxial anisotropy field H σ , estimated from X-ray diffraction data, ranged from 2.8–7.7 kOe with the films on (100) MGO having a higher H σ value than for the films on (110) MGO. Ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) measurements for in-plane and out-of-plane static magnetic field were utilized to determine both the magnetocrystalline the anisotropy field H 4 and the uniaxial anisotropy field H a . Values of H 4 range from −0.24 to −0.86 kOe. The uniaxial anisotropy field H a was an order of magnitude smaller than H σ and it decreased with increasing film thickness for NFO films on (100) MGO, but H a increased with film thickness for films on (110) MGO substrates. These observations indicate that the origin of the induced anisotropy could be attributed to several factors including (i) strain due to mismatch in the film-substrate lattice constants, (ii) possible variations in the bond lengths and bond angles in NFO during the growth process, and (iii) the strain arising from mismatch in the thermal expansion coefficients of the film and the substrate due to the high growth and annealing temperatures involved in the LPE technique. The LPE films of NFO on MGO substrates studied in this work are of interest for use in high frequency devices.
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- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10339064
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Scientific Reports
- Volume:
- 12
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 2045-2322
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Epitaxial thin films of cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) are grown on two isostructural substrates, (001)-oriented MgGa2O4 and ZnGa2O4, using pulsed laser deposition. The substrates have a lattice mismatch of 1.26% and 0.70% with bulk CoFe2O4 (CFO) crystal. We have systematically investigated the structural and magnetic properties of the epitaxial CFO films on these substrates. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy result analysis reveal that the films deposited on spinel ZnGa2O4 are essentially free of defects and are under a small compressive strain, while films on MgGa2O4 show partial strain relaxation along with defect formation. Room temperature magnetization data indicate that CFO grown on ZnGa2O4 substrates have a bulk-like saturation magnetization of 420 emu/cc and a uniaxial substrate-induced anisotropy value of −22.9× 106 erg/cm3 with an anisotropy field as low as 60 kOe.
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Abstract Magnetic insulators, such as the rare‐earth iron garnets, are promising materials for energy‐efficient spintronic memory and logic devices, and their anisotropy, magnetization, and other properties can be tuned over a wide range through selection of the rare‐earth ion. Films are typically grown as epitaxial single crystals on garnet substrates, but integration of these materials with conventional electronic devices requires growth on Si. The growth, magnetic, and spin transport properties of polycrystalline films of dysprosium iron garnet (DyIG) with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) on Si substrates and as single crystal films on garnet substrates are reported. PMA originates from magnetoelastic anisotropy and is obtained by controlling the strain state of the film through lattice mismatch or thermal expansion mismatch with the substrates. DyIG/Si exhibits large grain sizes and bulk‐like magnetization and compensation temperature. Polarized neutron reflectometry demonstrates a small interfacial nonmagnetic region near the substrate. Spin Hall magnetoresistance measurements conducted on a Pt/DyIG/Si heterostructure demonstrate a large interfacial spin mixing conductance between the Pt and DyIG comparable to other garnet/Pt heterostructures.
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null (Ed.)Single-crystalline membranes of functional materials enable the tuning of properties via extreme strain states; however, conventional routes for producing membranes require the use of sacrificial layers and chemical etchants, which can both damage and limit the ability to make membranes ultrathin. Here we demonstrate the epitaxial growth of cubic and hexagonal Heusler compounds on graphene-terminated Al$_2$O$_3$ substrates. The weak Van der Waals interactions of graphene enable the mechanical exfoliation of LaPtSb and GdPtSb films to yield free-standing membranes. Despite the presence of the graphene interlayer, the Heusler films have epitaxial registry to the underlying sapphire, as revealed by x-ray diffraction, reflection high energy electron diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy. Some films show a uniform in-plane rotation of several degrees with respect to the substrate, which we attribute to a combination of lattice mismatch and weakened Heusler film / sapphire substrate interactions through graphene. The residual resistivity of semi free-standing films on graphene-terminated substrates is similar to the residual resistivity of films grown by direct epitaxy. Our graphene-mediated approach provides a promising platform for tuning the magnetic, topological, and multiferroic properties of Heuslers in a clean, single-crystalline membrane system.more » « less
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Abstract Ultrafast time‐domain thermoreflectance (TDTR) is utilized to extract the through‐plane thermal conductivity (
Λ LSCO) of epitaxial La0.5Sr0.5CoO3−δ (LSCO) of varying thickness (<20 nm) on LaAlO3and SrTiO3substrates. These LSCO films possess ordered oxygen vacancies as the primary means of lattice mismatch accommodation with the substrate, which induces compressive/tensile strain and thus controls the orientation of the oxygen vacancy ordering (OVO). TDTR results demonstrate that the room‐temperatureΛ LSCOof LSCO on both substrates (1.7 W m−1K−1) are nearly a factor of four lower than that of bulk single‐crystal LSCO (6.2 W m−1K−1). Remarkably, this approaches the lower limit of amorphous oxides (e.g., 1.3 W m−1K−1for glass), with no dependence on the OVO orientation. Through theoretical simulations, origins of the glass‐like thermal conductivity of LSCO are revealed as a combined effect resulting from oxygen vacancies (the dominant factor), Sr substitution, size effects, and the weak electron/phonon coupling within the LSCO film. The absence of OVO dependence in the measuredΛ LSCOis rationalized by two main effects: (1) the nearly isotropic phononic thermal conductivity resulting from the imperfect OVO planes when δ is small; (2) the missing electronic contribution toΛ LSCOalong the through‐plane direction for these ultrathin LSCO films on insulating substrates.
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-10814-8
