Defect induced modification of structural, topographical and magnetic properties of zinc ferrite thin films by swift heavy ion irradiation

Lisha Raghavan, P. A. Joy, B. Varma Vijaykumar, R. V. Ramanujan, M. R. Anantharaman*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

18 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Swift heavy ion irradiation provides unique ways to modify physical and chemical properties of materials. In ferrites, the magnetic properties can change significantly as a result of swift heavy ion irradiation. Zinc ferrite is an antiferromagnet with a Neel temperature of 10 K and exhibits anomalous magnetic properties in the nano regime. Ion irradiation can cause amorphisation of zinc ferrite thin films; thus the role of crystallinity on magnetic properties can be examined. The influence of surface topography in these thin films can also be studied. Zinc ferrite thin films, of thickness 320 nm, prepared by RF sputtering were irradiated with 100 MeV Ag ions. Structural characterization showed amorphisation and subsequent reduction in particle size. The change in magnetic properties due to irradiation was correlated with structural and topographical effects of ion irradiation. A rough estimation of ion track radius is done from the magnetic studies.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)68-74
Number of pages7
JournalNuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms
Volume396
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 1 2017
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2017

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

  • Nuclear and High Energy Physics
  • Instrumentation

Keywords

  • Spin glass
  • Swift heavy ion
  • Zinc ferrite

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