Preparation and Modification of Magnetite Thin Films by Swift Kr-Ion Irradiation

Polycrystalline magnetite (Fe3O4) thin films is synthesized at low temperature (90 oC) by electroless plating in aqueous solution, and the behavior of the magnetic property of the Fe3O4 thin film irradiated by Kr26+ ions at energy of 2.03 GeV is investigated by magnetization measurements. The initial crystallographic structure of the Fe3O4 remains unaffected after swift heavy ion (SHI) irradiation, but both coercive force and saturation magnetization are sensitive to Kr26+ ion irradiation and exhibit different behaviors depending on the ion fluence range. And SHI irradiation could make the magnetic moments of the Fe3O4 films ordered around the columnar defects and the magnetic moments tend to arrange along the films plane. All modifications of the magnetic properties could be interpreted very well by the effects related to the stress and defects induced by SHI irradiation.