GROWTH AND CHARACTERIZATION OF NONSTOICHIOMETRIC MAGNETITE FE3-DELTA-O4 THIN-FILMS

Epitaxial thin films of magnetite, Fe3-deltaO4, were produced by evapo rating natural Fe or the Mossbauer active isotope Fe-57 onto MgO(100) substrates, with simultaneous oxidization of the iron film by a contro lled NO2 flux. RHEED intensity oscillations show that the growth proce eds in a layer-by-layer fashion. Mossbauer spectroscopy was used to de termine the conditions under which stoichiometric and non-stoichiometr ic magnetite thin films can be obtained. Furthermore, we report on a p (1 X 1) reconstruction of the Fe3O4(001) surface, which has not been o bserved before for epitaxial thin films of magnetite.