Structural study of nanometer-sized iron crystallites in single crystalline iron-mgo composite films

✍ Scribed by Tanaka, Nobuo ;Nagao, Masaru ;Yoshizaki, Fukio ;Mihama, Kazuhiro

• Publisher: Wiley (John Wiley & Sons)
• Year: 1989
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 1007 KB
• Volume: 12
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0741-0581
• DOI: 10.1002/jemt.1060120310

✦ Synopsis

Single crystalline composite films of iron and MgO are prepared by a simultaneous vacuum deposition technique. The structures of the composite films, especially of the iron crystallites embedded, are studied by high-resolution electron microscopy and nanometer-area electron diffraction. The a-iron (b.c.c.1 crystallites of 1 nm in size are epitaxially embedded in single crystalline MgO films, the orientation being ( O l ~) [ l O O l , e / / ( O O l ) [ l O O l ~~ and (OO1)[llOIFe// (001)[1001M90.

A heat treatment of the as-grown films at 500-1,OOO"C brings about a phase transformation of the crystallites from a-iron to y-iron (f.c.c.), followed by a grain growth of a-iron and finally the growth of the spinel, MgFe204. The y-iron crystallites transformed are circular plates and have strains at the periphery to accommodate the surrounding MgO-matrix. The magnetic property of the composite films is also reported.