Pulsed laser deposited Cobalt doped Ti0.9Fe0.1-xO2 thin films: Structural, morphological, magnetic, optical and electrical properties

Abstract The increasing demand of miniaturization in device fabrication has motivated us to deposit Ti0.9Fe0.1-xCoxO2 thin films which would be useful for various applications in Spintronics industry. These thin films have been deposited on Si (100) substrates. The Ceramic targets for the deposition were prepared via solid state reaction route from powders of TiO2, Fe and Co. The structural properties were studied by X-Ray Diffractometer (XRD) which revealed a pure rutile phase of TiO2. Morphological properties were investigated both by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Atomic Force Microscopic (AFM) techniques which showed a smooth and homogeneous surface of Ti0.9Fe0.1O2 thin films by Co doping. A decrease in particle size was observed. Magnetic properties were explored by Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM) at room temperature. All the thin films showed ferromagnetic behavior at room temperature. Optical properties were determined by Spectroscopic Ellipsometry (SE) technique at room temperature. A blue shift in band gap energy was observed by Co doping. Electrical properties were explored by Hall Effect Measurements which depicted the presence of n-type carriers in Ti0.9Fe0.1-xCoxO2 thin films. It was observed that the concentration of carriers and mobility were increasing by Co doping.