Mahesh Hordagoda

Nanocolumnar interfaces and enhanced magnetic coercivity in preferentially oriented cobalt ferrite thin films grown using oblique-angle pulsed laser deposition.

Highly textured cobalt ferrite (CFO) thin films were grown on Si (100) substrates using oblique-angle pulsed laser deposition (α-PLD). X-ray diffraction and in-depth strain analysis showed that the obliquely deposited CFO films had both enhanced orientation in the (111) crystal direction as well as tunable compressive strains as a function of the film thicknesses, in contrast to the almost strain-free polycrystalline CFO films grown using normal-incidence PLD under the same conditions. Using in situ optical plume diagnostics the growth parameters in the α-PLD process were optimized to achieve smoother film surfaces with roughness values as low as 1-2 nm as compared to the typical values of 10-12 nm in the normal-incidence PLD grown films. Cross-sectional high resolution transmission electron microscope images revealed nanocolumnar growth of single-crystals of CFO along the (111) crystallographic plane at the film-substrate interface. Magnetic measurements showed larger coercive fields (∼10 times) with similar saturation magnetization in the α-PLD-grown CFO thin films as compared to those deposited using normal-incidence PLD. Such significantly enhanced magnetic coercivity observed in CFO thin films make them ideally suited for magnetic data storage applications. A growth mechanism based on the atomic shadowing effect and strain compression-relaxation mechanism was proposed for the obliquely grown CFO thin films.

Enhanced giant magneto-impedance effect in soft ferromagnetic amorphous ribbons with pulsed laser deposition of cobalt ferrite

We have grown a 50 nm thick magnetic layer of cobalt ferrite (CFO) on two Co-based amorphous ribbons of compositions Co65Fe4Ni2Si15B14 (type I) and Co69Fe4Ni1Mo2B12Si12 (type II) by a pulsed laser deposition technique. A comparative study of the influence of this CFO layer on the giant magneto-impedance (GMI) effect and field sensitivity (η) of the ribbons is presented. Our results reveal that the presence of the CFO layer enhanced both the GMI ratio and the field sensitivity of the ribbons. Relative to the plain ribbons, the GMI ratio and field sensitivity of the CFO-coated ribbons increased by 97% and 42% for type I and by 34% and 50% for type II, respectively. The enhanced effects are attributed to the modifications on the ribbon surface and closure of magnetic flux paths due to the CFO layer.

Controlled Ti seed layer assisted growth and field emission properties of Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 nanowire arrays.

We report on the directed upright growth of ferroelectric (FE) Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 (PZT) nanowire (NW) arrays with large aspect ratios of >60 using a Ti seed layer assisted hydrothermal process over large surface areas on ITO/glass substrates. In a two-step growth process, Ti seed layer of low surface roughness with a thickness of ~500 nm and grain size of ~100 nm was first deposited by radio frequency (RF) sputtering which was subsequently used as substrates for the growth of highly dense, single crystalline PZT NWs by controlled nucleation. The electron emission properties of the PZT NWs were investigated using the as-grown NWs as FE cathodes. A low turn-on field of ~3.4 V/μm was obtained from the NW arrays, which is impressively lower than that from other reported values. The results reported in this work give direction to the development of a facile growth technique for PZT NWs over large surfaces and also are of interest to the generation of high current electron beam from FE NW based cathodes for field emitter applications.

Influence of microstructure and interfacial strain on the magnetic properties of epitaxial Mn3O4/La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 layered-composite thin films

Epitaxial Mn3O4/La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 (Mn3O4/LSMO) bilayer thin films were grown on lattice-matched single crystal substrates of SrTiO3 (STO) (100) and MgO (100), with Mn3O4 as the top layer, using a pulsed laser deposition technique. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns revealed the single crystalline nature and epitaxial relationship between the layers. A detailed analysis of strains using XRD asymmetric/symmetric scans indicated an increasing in-plane compressive strain in the LSMO layer with increasing thicknesses of the Mn3O4 layer, resulting in a tetragonal distortion of the LSMO lattice in the Mn3O4/LSMO films in comparison to the tensile strains in LSMO single-layer films grown on both STO and MgO substrates. Cross-sectional high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) images showed atomically sharp interfaces in all films. However, as opposed to a flat interface between LSMO and STO, the Mn3O4 and LSMO interface was undulating and irregular in the bilayer films. Magnetic measurements revealed th...

Challenges in the stoichiometric growth of polycrystalline and epitaxial PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3/La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 multiferroic heterostructures using pulsed laser deposition

High quality polycrystalline and epitaxial PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3/La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 (PZT/LSMO) multiferroic thin films were deposited on single-crystal Si (100) and SrTiO3 (STO) (100) substrates using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. The deposition conditions were optimized to overcome some of the challenges during the growth of stoichiometric PZT/LSMO thin films (with LSMO as the bottom layers). The major setback of the preferential evaporation of Pb during the ablation of PZT target, which leads to the growth of non-stoichiometric, Pb-deficient PZT thin films with poor ferroelectric properties, was investigated by studying the laser-target interaction sites and intensified charge-coupled detector (ICCD) imaging of the laser-ablated plumes. X-ray studies revealed that the PZT/LSMO heterostructures deposited under the optimum conditions were highly crystalline. Atomic force microscope images showed uniform grain growth with surface roughness values as low as 1.6 nm. In- and out-of-plane magnetization measu...

Impacts of amorphous and crystalline cobalt ferrite layers on the giant magneto-impedance response of a soft ferromagnetic amorphous ribbon

A systematic study of the effect of depositing CoFe2O4 (CFO) films of various thicknesses (d = 0–600 nm) on the giant magneto-impedance (GMI) response of a soft ferromagnetic amorphous ribbon Co65Fe4Ni2Si15B14 has been performed. The CFO films were grown on the amorphous ribbons by the pulsed laser deposition technique. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy revealed a structural variation of the CFO film from amorphous to polycrystalline as the thickness of the CFO film exceeded a critical value of 300 nm. Atomic force microscopy evidenced the increase in surface roughness of the CFO film as the thickness of the CFO film was increased. These changes in the crystallinity and morphology of the CFO film were found to have a distinct impact on the GMI response of the ribbon. Relative to the bare ribbon, coating of amorphous CFO films significantly enhanced the GMI response of the ribbon, while polycrystalline CFO films decreased it considerably. The maximum GMI response was achieved near the ...

Intrinsic anomalous ferroelectricity in vertically aligned LiNbO3-type ZnSnO3 hybrid nanoparticle-nanowire arrays

An intrinsically constricted ferroelectric (FE) hysteresis behavior with a high remanent polarization of ≈26 μC/cm2 is reported from LiNbO3-type (LN-type) ZnSnO3 hybrid nanoparticle-nanowire (NP-NW) arrayed film. Vertically aligned and densely packed LN-type ZnSnO3 hybrid NP-NW arrays are synthesized using ZnO:Al seed-layer assisted process by a physical/chemical combined methodology. Post-annealing treatments and repeated poling measurements reinstate that the constricted FE loop in LN-type ZnSnO3 is an inherent feature of the hybrid NP-NW structure. This is also exemplified by the noticeable increase in the degree of constriction with higher NP concentration in the sample. A close fit to the experimental data was obtained with the Preisach model of FE hysteresis confirming a unique charge-ordering mechanism which was ascribed to the interaction of the NPs with each other and the surrounding FE ZnSnO3 NWs. The work provides a comprehensible understanding of the microstructure-property relationships in em...

Enhanced magnetism and ferroelectricity in epitaxial Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3/CoFe2O4/La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 multiferroic heterostructures grown using dual-laser ablation technique

PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3/CoFe2O4/La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 (PZT/CFO/LSMO) and PZT/LSMO heterostructures were grown on single-crystal MgO (100) substrates using the dual-laser ablation technique. X-ray diffraction confirmed the epitaxial relationship between the layers in the heterostructures. Magnetization measurements showed in-plane uniaxial magnetic anisotropy in PZT/CFO/LSMO with enhanced saturation magnetization of 288 emu/cm3 as compared to 244 emu/cm3 for PZT/LSMO. With the introduction of the hard magnetic CFO, the low coercivity of PZT/LSMO increased from 0.1 kOe to 1.4 kOe. Polarization measurements showed well-saturated square hysteresis loops for PZT/CFO/LSMO with enhanced remanent polarization (Pr) values of 69 μC/cm2 at a coercive field (Ec) of 88 kV/cm as compared to Pr = 51 μC/cm2 at Ec = 39 kV/cm for PZT/LSMO. The improved hard ferromagnetic and ferroelectric properties in PZT/CFO/LSMO as compared to PZT/LSMO make it desirable for multiferroic device applications.