Magnetic properties of Co-ferrite thin films prepared by PLD with in situ heating and post-annealing

Co-ferrite thin films on (1 0 0) SiO2 substrates were deposited using pulsed laser deposition with in situ heating and post-annealing heat treatments. The structure and magnetic properties of the films were analyzed by X-ray diffractionmetry, atomic force microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and alternating gradient force magnetometry. High perpendicular coercivity around 8.9 kOe has been obtained in the film with in situ substrate heating at 700 degrees C. High coercivity of Co-ferrite thin film was found to be related to nanocystalline grain size, large lattice strain, surface roughness and preferential texture structure. (C) 2006 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.