Temperature-Dependence of Static Magnetic Properties of FeGa Thin Film Fabricated by Pulsed Laser Deposition

Abstract

FeGa thin films have been deposited onto (100)-oriented GaAs and (001)-oriented Si substrates at different temperatures by pulsed laser deposition. It has been shown that at different substrate temperatures, magnetic properties of FeGa films greatly change, which is mainly dependent on different crystal textures. The presence of the structure consisting of D0₃-ordered grain phase and bcc α-Fe crystal structure (A2) has been revealed using X-ray diffraction analysis. The diffraction peak of FeGa (001) direction, which ‎corresponds to the D0₃-ordered granular phase, was observed when the temperatures of the GaAs substrate were 400 and 600°C. The diffraction peak that corresponds to (110) direction of the bcc A2 structure has appeared at 800°C. However, the FeGa film on the Si substrate did not demonstrate any obvious structural change. The changes in the magnetic properties can be mainly attributed to changes in the roughness and the lattice mismatch between FeGa and Si.‎