Self-assembled 1-3D Pb(ZrTi)O3-NiFe2O4 magnetoelectric nanocomposite films with narrow FMR linewidth

Ferrites are critical for nonreciprocal RF/microwave devices. In the current work, epitaxial NiFe2O4 nanowires were self-assembled in Pb(ZrTi)O3 matrix on a (001)-oriented MgAl2O4 single-crystal substrate by a 90° off-axis RF magnetron sputtering method. The influences of substrate temperature, argon-over-oxygen ratio and RF power on the growth of NiFe2O4 nanowires have been addressed. Owing to the excellent lattice match between the NFO phase and the PZT matrix, very low ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) linewidth of 139 Oe was obtained at 8.969 GHz, even better than the single-layer epitaxial NiFe2O4 film, therefore making them suitable for RF/microwave nonreciprocal devices.