Magnetic anisotropy of epitaxial zinc ferrite thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition

Abstract Epitaxial zinc ferrite thin films are grown on (001) SrTiO 3 substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The magnetic anisotropy of the films is examined by superconducting quantum interference device magnetometry and ferromagnetic resonance, with various in-plane and out-of-plane orientations of the magnetic field. The volume magnetization of the films is found to be around 55 kA/m. The existence of a cubic magnetic anisotropy is shown, with the easy axes oriented along the [111] crystallographic directions. The films show ferrimagnetic properties with a Curie temperature higher than 350 K. The nature of a strong “easy-plane”-type bimodal anisotropy in the films is discussed.