Epitaxial growth of the high temperature ferromagnetic semiconductor Fe1.5Ti0.5O3 on silicon-compatible substrate

The ilmenite-hematite (IH) solid solution Fe1.5Ti0.5O3 thin films with rhombohedral symmetry were epitaxially grown on silicon-compatible cubic SrTiO3(001) substrates. Ordered (R-3 symmetry) and disordered (R-3c symmetry) cation arrangement along the film c axis was obtained for different oxygen pressure during the IH growth. Drastic changes in magnetic properties of the films were observed as a function of the cation order. The IH thin films with R-3 symmetry have relatively high conductivity and saturation magnetization at 300 K (6 Ω−1 cm−1 and 0.4 μB/Fe respectively), and Curie temperature of 415 K, making IH a promising material for room-temperature spintronics applications.