Growth, magnetic, and electronic properties of Ni-Zn ferrites thin films

Abstract Thin films of Ni-Zn ferrite grown on MgO(111) single crystal substrate were prepared using radiofrequency magnetron sputtering, with a target of nominal composition Ni 0.5 Zn 0.5 Fe 2 O 4 . Subsequently, x-ray diffraction (XRD) was performed, which revealed characteristic reflections of a Ni-Zn ferrite structure, confirming the unique formation of the ferrite. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) revealed the presence of metal ions in their appropriate valence states within the crystalline structure of the Ni-Zn ferrite. The variation in binding energy observed in the thin film is attributed to changes in the environment of Fe 3+ and Zn 2+ or Ni 2+ ions, resulting from the non-equilibrium distribution of cations in tetrahedral and octahedral sites. The saturation magnetization and the coercivity field were <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mn>7.05</mml:mn> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>μ</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">B</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> <mml:mo>/</mml:mo> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">cell</mml:mi> </mml:math> and 513 ± 32 Oe, respectively. In addition, ferromagnetic resonance studies were made using broad-band FMR spectroscopy based on a coplanar waveguide (CPW) spectrometer.