Modification of magnetic anisotropy induced by swift heavy ion irradiation in cobalt ferrite thin films

Abstract

The present study demonstrates the modification of magnetic anisotropy in cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) thin films induced by swift heavy ion irradiations of 200 MeV Ag-ion beams. The study reveals that both magnetizations and coercive field are sensitive to Ag-ions irradiation and to the fluences. The magnetic anisotropy enhanced at low fluence of Ag-ions due to domain wall pinning at defect sites created by ion bombardment and at high fluence, this magnetic anisotropy ceases and changes to isotropic behavior which is explained based on the significant structural and morphological changes. An X-ray absorption and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism studies confirms the inverse spinel structure of these compounds.