Magnetic properties of nanocrystalline Fe₃O₄ films

Nanocrystalline magnetite Fe₃O₄ films of about 180 nm thick have been deposited on Si(100) substrates by pulsed laser deposition. Zero-field-cooled magnetization shows clearly the Verwey transition near 120 K by an abrupt change, which is absent from the field-cooled magnetization. This is correlated to its hysteresis curves where the loops remain open until a high field of 2 T. The magnetization does not saturate in field 2 orders of magnitude higher than its coercive field. Such behaviors may result from the existence of antiphase domains. Antiphase boundaries inside the grains are clearly observed with transmission electron microscopy. Negative magnetoresistance of about 12% has been observed near 120 K in a field of 9 T. © 2001 American Institute of Physics.