CaFe2O4 is a highly anisotropic antiferromagnet reported to display two spin arrangements with up-up-down-down (phase A) and up-down-up-down (phase B) configurations. The relative stability of these phases is ruled by the competing ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic interactions between Fe3+ spins arranged in two different environments, but a complete understanding of the magnetic structure of this material does not exist yet. In this study we investigate epitaxial CaFe2O4 thin films grown on TiO2 (110) substrates by means of Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD). Structural characterization reveals the coexistence of two out-of-plane crystal orientations and the formation of three in-plane oriented domains. The magnetic properties of the films, investigated macroscopically as well as locally, including highly sensitive Mossbauer spectroscopy, reveal the presence of just one order parameter showing long-range ordering below T = 185 K and the critical nature of the transition. In addition, a non-zero in-plane magnetization is found, consistent with the presence of uncompensated spins at phase or domain boundaries, as proposed for bulk samples.
@article{arxiv.2001.11446,
title = {Structure and magnetic properties of epitaxial CaFe2O4 thin films},
author = {Silvia Damerio and Pavan Nukala and Jean Juraszek and Pim Reith and Hans Hilgenkamp and Beatriz Noheda},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2001.11446},
year = {2020}
}
Comments
Changes are made to take into account the newly published paper by Songvilay et al. (PRB 101,014407) Changes are in last sentence of the abstract, 5th paragraph of the discussion section and conclusions paragraph