Microstructure and magnetic properties of La-Co substituted strontium hexaferrite films prepared by pulsed laser deposition

Microstructure and magnetic properties of La-Co substituted strontium hexaferrite films (Sr1-xLax Fe12-xCoxO19) fabricated by pulsed laser deposition on Si(100)/Pt(111) substrate were investigated. The coercivities of the films in perpendicular direction were higher than those in in-plane direction which confirms the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy of the films. Atomic force microscopy images of the films revealed decreasing of the plate-like grains size, from 300 to 110 nm with increasing the La-Co contents. The saturation magnetization increased slightly till x=0.2 and then decreased from x=0.2 to x=0.4. However, the coercivity increased from 2.3 kOe for the SrFe12O19 film to 4.1 kOe for the Sr0.6La0.4Fe11.6Co0.4O19 film, because of the decrease of the grain size and increase of the magnetic anisotropy field. (c) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.