Reactive magnetron sputtered–assisted deposition of nanocomposite thin films with tuneable magnetic, electrical and interfacial properties

In this work, different magnetic thin films of Ni, NiFe and NiFe2O4 are deposited on the SiO2 substrate using sputtering technique. Our experiments confirmed that thin films possess a good nanocrystalline structure. The key deposition parameters controlling their magnetic properties are sheet resistivity, crystalline structure and microtopography of the sputtered thin film. Besides, the reactive gas oxygen (O2) also plays a leading role in transforming the phase and structure of the ferrite film. The nanocrystalline nature of the ferrite film results in the reduction of overall coercivity (HC). The thickness of the sputtered thin film is in the range of 800–1000 A. The prepared film exhibits roughness in the range of (~ 0.60 to ~ 0.98 nm). Furthermore, the structural transformation study is performed with X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The quite low roughness, high resistivity and low Hc make NiFe2O4 thin film as a potential candidate for the future spintronics, optoelectronics, photocatalysis and solar cell applications.