Microstructure And Magnetic Properties Of Strained Fe3o4 Films

A comparable study of the microstructure and magnetic properties was performed for magnetite films deposited on (100)-oriented MgO and SrTiO3 (STO) substrates. The growth of strained high quality Fe3O4 films was confirmed by x-ray diffraction analysis and Raman spectroscopy measurements. The surface morphology and magnetic properties of the two films were found to be obviously different. Moreover, a stripelike magnetic domain structure was observed in the film on STO. Substrate-induced strain is believed to be responsible for these observations, which significantly affects the magnetic anisotropy and the magnetic coupling at the antiphase boundaries in the films. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.