Probing antiphase boundaries in Fe3O4 thin films using micro-Raman spectroscopy

We present Raman study of Fe3O4 films of different thicknesses grown on single crystal Si and MgO substrates to investigate the presence of antiphase boundaries (APBs). X-ray diffraction and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements indicate that films are single phase Fe3O4 on both the substrates. The changes in frequency and linewidth of different Raman modes [A(1g) and T-2g(3)] are monitored and the electron-phonon coupling parameter (lambda) is computed. lambda is correlated with the combined effect of strain and APBs present in the grown films and it is concluded that the films grown on Si substrates are free from APBs.