Control of Magnetic Order in Spinel ZnFe2O4 Thin Films Through Intrinsic Defect Manipulation
Abstract
We present a systematic study of the magnetic properties of semiconducting ZnFe2O4 thin films fabricated by pulsed laser deposition at low and high oxygen partial pressure and annealed in oxygen and argon atmosphere, respectively. The magnetic response is enhanced by annealing the films at 250C and diminished at annealing temperatures above 300C. The initial increase is attributed to the formation of oxygen vacancies after argon treatment, evident by the increase in the low energy absorption at 0.9 eV involving Fe2+ cations. The weakened magnetic response is related to a decline in disorder with a cation redistribution toward a normal spinel configuration. The structural renormalization is consistent with the decrease and increase in oscillator strength of respective electronic transitions involving tetrahedrally (at 3.5 eV) and octahedrally (at 5.7 eV) coordinated Fe3+ cations.
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