Composite magnetic and non-magnetic oxide nanostructures fabricated by a laser-based technique

The paper presents experimental results on fabricating composite nanostructures consisting of magnetic and nonmagnetic metal oxide nanoparticles. The samples were produced by a single-step process of pulsed laser deposition carried out in air at atmospheric pressure in the presence of a magnetic field. Part of the depositions was performed by ablation of two metals simultaneously - Fe and Zn, and Fe and Ti. Another part of the experiments included simultaneous depositions from metal oxide targets - Fe2O3 and ZnO, and Fe2O3 and TiO2 as well as from metal and metal oxide (Fe-TiO2) targets. The depositions were performed in a magnetic field in order to control the magnetic nanoparticles produced in the plasma plume and thus, the morphology of the composite nanostructures. The structure and morphology of the structures obtained were studied as related to the samples' composition. It was found that the difference in the ablation threshold of the initial ablated materials determines the use of a specific methodology for composite fabrication. The nanostructures prepared could be used in the design of novel magneto-optic and sensor devices.

Automated summary

The paper presents experimental results on fabricating composite nanostructures consisting of magnetic and nonmagnetic metal oxide nanoparticles using pulsed laser deposition in the presence of a magnetic field. The study found that the difference in the ablation threshold of the initial ablated materials determines the specific methodology for composite fabrication, which could be used in the design of novel magneto-optic and sensor devices. The morphology and structure of the nanostructures obtained were controlled by the magnetic field during deposition.