Microtexture of magnetite thin films of „001... and „111... orientations on MgO substrates studied by electron-backscatter diffraction

The grain orientation of 001 and 111 -oriented magnetite thin films grown on MgO substrates film thickness of 100–400 nm is analyzed by means of the electron-backscatter diffraction EBSD technique. The 001 surface after a short annealing in air 1 min, 250 °C is characterized by the presence of tiny diameter of 100–200 nm misoriented islands, which have an influence on the antiferromagnetic coupling within the film. In the 111 -oriented films, such defects are found to be absent, and the films show a very homogeneous surface. The achieved spatial resolution enables further a cross-section analysis of a 400-nm-thick film with 001 orientation, even close to the interface MgO-magnetite. © 2008 American Institute of Physics. DOI: 10.1063/1.2837283