Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A, Vol.17, No.4, 1630-1634, 1999
Structure and electronic states of single-crystal Fe1-xNixOy (0 <= x <= 1) thin films
In a previous report, we showed that a series of single-crystalline iron-nickel oxide alloy thin films, with various Fe-Ni concentration ratios, could be fabricated by a molecular beam epitaxy technique. With x-ray diffraction and adsorption studies, the distribution of Fe and Ni in these compounds are found different from a bulk Fe2NiO2. ferrite phase. We extend the study to a more detailed x-ray adsorption on oxygen K edge from these films. The new results again support the model of the unique ionic distribution in these ferrite alloy films. It further reveals a detailed hybridized feature with transition metal d and sp bands, which is sensitive to the local structure and near neighbors of Fe and Ni. This precisely characterized ionic structure can be directly compared to a local magnetic moment theory. A preliminary result of the magnetic response from these films is discussed.