In-Situ oxidation time dependent structural, magnetic and dielectric properties of electrodeposited magnesium-iron-oxide thin films

Magnesium ferrite (MgFe2O4) is one of the most significant spinel ferrites. It is a soft magnetic n-type semi-conductor material with a small band gap (2.18 eV). A room temperature synthesis technique of electrodepo-sition has been utilized to fabricate magnesium-iron-oxide thin films. Electrodeposition is selected as it is fast, convenient, non-vacuum, reliable, environmentally friendly, controllable and cheap. In this research work, magnesium-iron-oxide thin films have been successfully synthesized on copper substrates. The deposition time is kept 20 min fixed, while the in-situ oxidation time ranged from 10 min to 30 min with a 5 min interval. The structural, morphological, dielectric and magnetic properties are studied. The X Ray Diffracaction (XRD) pattern has revealed a single-phase cubic spinel formation. The phase-pure of MgFe2O4 at 30 min oxidation times has larger crystallite size 25.04 nm. The Fourier Transform Infra Red Spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis has revealed the evolution of the spinel bands at 555 cm-1 and 990 cm-1 of magnesium-iron-oxide thin films. A smooth char-acteristic porous structure has been observed in the thin film at 30 min. The dielectric constant (epsilon) of 6.76 and the loss tangent (tan delta) of 0.08 at log f = 5 is observed for 30 min oxidation time. The magnetic hysteresis curve (M -H) exhibits strong ferromagnetic behavior for all the magnesium-iron-oxide thin films. The remarkable findings of the MgFe2O4 thin film at 30 min makes it a potential candidate for electronic and spintronic devices.

Automated summary

In this research, magnesium-iron-oxide thin films were successfully synthesized on copper substrates using the electrodeposition technique. The thin film at 30 min oxidation time exhibited larger crystallite size, smooth porous structure, higher dielectric constant, lower loss tangent, and strong ferromagnetic behavior. These findings make the MgFe2O4 thin film a potential candidate for electronic and spintronic devices.