Iron-Doped Lithium Tantalate Thin Films Deposited by Magnetron Sputtering: A Study of the Iron Role in the Structure and the Derived Magnetic Properties

Fe-doped LiTaO<sub>3</sub> thin films with a low and high Fe concentration (labeled as LTO:Fe-LC and LTO:Fe-HC, respectively) were deposited by magnetron sputtering from two home-made targets. The dopant directly influenced the crystalline structure of the LiTaO<sub>3</sub> t...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sergio David Villalobos Mendoza, José Trinidad Holguín Momaca, José Trinidad Elizalde Galindo, Diana María Carrillo Flores, Sion Federico Olive Méndez, José Rurik Farías Mancilla
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-01-01
Series:Crystals
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/10/1/50
Description
Summary:Fe-doped LiTaO<sub>3</sub> thin films with a low and high Fe concentration (labeled as LTO:Fe-LC and LTO:Fe-HC, respectively) were deposited by magnetron sputtering from two home-made targets. The dopant directly influenced the crystalline structure of the LiTaO<sub>3</sub> thin films, causing the contraction of the unit cell, which was related to the incorporation of Fe<sup>3+</sup> ions into the LiTaO<sub>3</sub> structure, which occupied Li positions. This substitution was corroborated by Raman spectroscopy, where the bands associated with Li-O bonds broadened in the spectra of the samples. Magnetic hysteresis loops, zero-field cooling curves, and field cooling curves were obtained in a vibrating sample magnetometer. The LTO:Fe-HC sample demonstrates superparamagnetic behavior with a blocking temperature of 100 K, mainly associated with the appearance of Fe clusters in the thin film. On the other hand, a room temperature ferromagnetic behavior was found in the LTO:Fe-LC layer where saturation magnetization (3.80 kAm<sup>&#8722;1</sup>) and magnetic coercivities were not temperature-dependent. Moreover, the crystallinity and morphology of the samples were evaluated by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, respectively.
ISSN:2073-4352