Inverse magnetoresistance in textured Fe3O4 film

Abstract A surprising inverse (positive) MR effect was observed in thin film of magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 ) grown on Si substrate by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements show a highly (111)-textured growth and single phase nature of Fe 3 O 4 thin film. X-Ray Magnetic Circular Dichroism (XMCD) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) were employed to exclude the existence of γ-Fe 2 O 3 . The surface morphology of the film was investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Based on the aforementioned studies, we proposed a spin dependent conduction mechanism to explain the observed anomalous MR effect.