Preparation and investigation of bulk and thin film samples of strontium ferrite

In this article, bulk and thin film samples of strontium ferrite have been studied. Due to the high electrical resistivity in strontium ferrite, energy loss due to eddy currents reduces and because of this, it can be used in high frequency magnetic circuits. On the other hand, strontium ferrite has attracted much attention as a permanent magnet. At first, we study the preparation process of bulk samples of strontium ferrite by a solid state reaction technique. In preparation of samples, to optimize the magnetic properties, we have used the stoichiometry factor (n = Fe2O3 / SrO) of 5.25. In addition, we have used additives such as CaO and SiO2 to control grain growth. The samples have been prepared in two series: Isotropic and Anisotropic. For preparation of anisotropic samples, the magnetic field of 1T has been used for orientation of the grains during the press. Then, X-ray diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), EDAX analysis and Magnetometer, was used for analyzing and comparing of structural and magnetic properties of isotropic and anisotropic samples. The results indicate that, due to the applied magnetic field, the structural and Magnetic properties of anisotropic samples improved efficiently because of the orientation of the grains during the press. In the next stage, we used bulk samples to prepare strontium ferrite thin films by Pulsed Laser Deposition technique (PLD). The Si (111) substrate has been used to prepare the thin films. Then we have studied the microstructure of thin films by X-ray diffraction, SEM and EDAX analysis. These studies on different samples show that for the preparation of crystalline phase of strontium ferrite thin films, the substrate temperature must be higher than 800˚C. The optimum conditions for preparation of strontium, ferrite thin films have been achieved on the substrate temperature of 840˚C and oxygen pressure of 75 mtorr.