Chemical vapor deposition of CoFe2O4 micropillar arrays with enhanced magnetic properties

Single-step thermal chemical vapor deposition was optimized at 400 degrees C for the growth of CoFe2O4 spinel thin films starting from the corresponding metal acetylacetonate precursors. Enhanced magnetization was observed for conditions leading to a columnar growth with a preferred (100) orientation. The implemented liquid precursor delivery secured a reliable films' composition control and a straightforward dosage of acetylacetone, as a molecular growth inhibitor, to enhance the film conformality on structured surfaces. The optimized conditions enabled an efficient micro-pore filling, and the fabricated ordered micropillar arrays feature a coercivity of 1.8 kOe and a saturation magnetization of 350 emu/cm3. The implemented state-ofthe-art up-scalable microfabrication technology, the reasonable thermal budget and the resulting high magnetic performance pave the way towards the development of innovative magnetoelectric devices. (c) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. CC_BY_4.0

Automated summary

The optimized single-step thermal chemical vapor deposition process allowed for efficient micro-pore filling, resulting in ordered micropillar arrays with a coercivity of 1.8 kOe and a saturation magnetization of 350 emu/cm3, paving the way for the development of innovative magnetoelectric devices.