Tailoring magnetism in chromium-doped zinc cobalt ferrite nanostructure for advanced spintronic memory devices

Abstract

Soft magnetic ferrites serve as a crucial component in a wide array of sensing and actuating applications across various industries, including consumer electronics, automotive systems, spintronics, and more. These materials also find utility in spintronics, particularly for next-generation magnetic random-access memory (MRAM) due to their excellent inductive properties, which enhance the performance and scalability of spintronic memory devices. This study focuses on fine-tuning soft magnetic ferrites for inductive applications by doping them with Cr ions. By utilizing advanced experimental techniques such as the vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) for bulk magnetometry and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) alongside X-ray absorption spectroscopy for atomic studies, the research aims to investigate the structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of the nanoferrites. Addition of doping in the soft ferrites observes reduction in the general magnetic parameters, with the only exception being coercivity, which decreases from 381 Oe to 275 Oe as the doping concentration increases from x = 0 to x = 0.02, and then increases to 350 Oe at x = 0.03. Through such precise tuning of the nanoparticles, this study aims to investigate the controllable soft magnetic properties of the nanoferrites, thereby paving the way for fast access times, non-volatility, and low energy consumption, presenting a compelling alternative to conventional memory technologies.