Antiferromagnetic Oxide Thin Films for Spintronic Applications

• Main Authors: Saima Afroz Siddiqui, Deshun Hong, John E. Pearson, Axel Hoffmann
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-06-01
• Series: Coatings
• Subjects: chromium oxide; hematite; reactive magnetron sputtering; epitaxial thin film; roughness; antiferromagnetic oxides
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6412/11/7/786

Antiferromagnetic oxides have recently gained much attention because of the possibility to manipulate electrically and optically the Néel vectors in these materials. Their ultrafast spin dynamics, long spin diffusion length and immunity to large magnetic fields make them attractive candidates for spintronic applications. Additionally, there have been many studies on spin wave and magnon transport in single crystals of these oxides. However, the successful applications of the antiferromagnetic oxides will require similar spin transport properties in thin films. In this work, we systematically show the sputtering deposition method for two uniaxial antiferromagnetic oxides, namely Cr₂O₃ and α-Fe₂O₃, on A-plane sapphire substrates, and identify the optimized deposition conditions for epitaxial films with low surface roughness. We also confirm the antiferromagnetic properties of the thin films. The deposition method developed in this article will be important for studying the magnon transport in these epitaxial antiferromagnetic thin films.