Bulk and surface characterisation of micrometer-thick cobalt ferrite films grown by IR PLD

Abstract

We have studied micrometer-thick cobalt ferrite films deposited on Si (1 0 0) single crystal substrates by nanosecond pulsed laser deposition at 1064 nm.The thickness of the deposited films (1.3 μm) was monitored by AFM. The chemical and structural characterisation of the films was carried out by Raman spectroscopy and transmission Mössbauer spectroscopy at 300 and 26 K. For comparison purposes, transmission Mössbauer data at these two temperatures were also recorded from a commercial cobalt ferrite powder and the home-made target used to grow the films. The surface characterisation was performed by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Integral Low Energy Electron Spectroscopy (ILEEMS). XPS showed Co and Fe to be present as Co and Fe, as expected for cobalt ferrite. The Raman spectra showed the lines characteristic of cobalt ferrite. The Mössbauer spectra, both in the transmission and backscattering modes, were fitted to two sextets whose hyperfine parameters are in good agreement with those expected from Fe cations occupying the tetrahedral and octahedral sites in the spinel-related structure. No significant differences were observed in the relative areas of the two sextets in the transmission and ILEEMS spectra, suggesting that the cation distribution at the surface and the bulk are not too different. However, the relative areas of the two components changed drastically with temperature both in the spectra of the films as in those recorded from the cobalt ferrite standards. We discuss the possible origin of the evolution with temperature of those relative areas.