Room temperature in-plane ⟨100⟩ magnetic easy axis for Fe3O4/SrTiO3(001):Nb grown by infrared pulsed laser deposition

Abstract

We examine the magnetic easy-axis directions of stoichiometric magnetite films grown on SrTiO3:Nb by infrared pulsed-laser deposition. Spin-polarized low-energy electron microscopy reveals that the individual magnetic domains are magnetized along the in-plane ⟨100⟩ film directions. Magneto-optical Kerr effect measurements show that the maxima of the remanence and coercivity are also along in-plane ⟨100⟩ film directions. This easy-axis orientation differs from bulk magnetite and films prepared by other techniques, establishing that the magnetic anisotropy can be tuned by film growth.