Pulsed laser deposition growth of Fe3O4 on III-V semiconductors for spin injection

We report on the growth of thin layers of Fe3O4 on GaAs and InAs by pulsed laser deposition. It is found that Fe3O4 grows epitaxially on InAs at a temperature of 350 degreesC. X-ray photoelecton spectroscopy (XPS) studies of the interface show little if any interface reaction resulting in a clean epitaxial interface. In contrast, Fe3O4 grows in columnar fashion on GaAs, oriented with respect to the growth direction but with random orientation in the plane of the substrate. In this case XPS analysis showed much more evidence of interface reactions, which may contribute to the random-m-plane growth. (C) 2003 American Vacuum Society.