Restoration of bulk magnetic properties by strain engineering in epitaxial CoFe2O4 (001) ultrathin films

We report on the significantly enhanced in-plane magnetic properties of CoFe2O4 (001) ultrathin layers (5 nm) grown on MgAl2O4 (001) in comparison to films deposited on MgO (001). The predicted inverse spinel structure is confirmed by x-ray magnetic circular dichroism measurements and transmission e...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Applied physics letters Vol. 99; no. 5
Main Authors:	Matzen, S., Moussy, J.-B., Mattana, R., Petroff, F., Gatel, C., Warot-Fonrose, B., Cezar, J. C., Barbier, A., Arrio, M.-A., Sainctavit, Ph
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	01-08-2011
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	We report on the significantly enhanced in-plane magnetic properties of CoFe2O4 (001) ultrathin layers (5 nm) grown on MgAl2O4 (001) in comparison to films deposited on MgO (001). The predicted inverse spinel structure is confirmed by x-ray magnetic circular dichroism measurements and transmission electronic microscopy studies reveal a significant in-plane compressive strain, responsible for the strong film anisotropy. These results show that strain engineering can be used to tailor the magnetic properties of oxide ultrathin films. A large compressive strain restores bulk magnetic properties for CoFe2O4 films at tunnel barrier thicknesses.
ISSN:	0003-6951 1077-3118
DOI:	10.1063/1.3622307