Self-Assembled Growth of Spinel (Fe,Zn)3O4–Perovskite BiFeO3 Nanocomposite Structures Using Pulsed Laser Deposition

Nanocomposite thin films consisting of spinel-type magnetic semiconductor (Fe,Zn)3O4 and perovskite-type ferroelectric BiFeO3 were prepared by a self-assembled growth method from a composition-adjusted Fe–Zn–Bi–O single target using a pulsed laser deposition technique. It is found that BiFeO3 square patterns reflecting the in-plane lattice shape of the SrTiO3 substrate are grown directly from the substrate interface with inverse pyramid shapes embedded in a (Fe,Zn)3O4 matrix in the absence of other phases. This self-assembled growth should be a convenient method to fabricate a lot of nano-heterojunctions with complicated oxide structures, which is applicable to spintronic oxide materials.