Wfj. Fontijn et al., INVESTIGATION OF THE STOICHIOMETRY OF MBE-GROWN FE3O4 LAYERS BY MAGNETOOPTICAL KERR SPECTROSCOPY, Thin solid films, 292(1-2), 1997, pp. 270-276
The polar Kerr spectra between 0.7 and 4.0 eV of single-crystalline la
yers of Fe3O4 grown epitaxially on MgAl2O4, SrTiO3 and MgO (100) subst
rates by means of oxidic molecular beam epitaxy are compared to the sp
ectrum of a bulk synthetic single crystal of magnetite to asses the st
oichiometry of the layers. Model calculations of the magneto-optical s
pectra of thin layers are used to explain the differences between the
spectra of bulk Fe3O4 and thin layers of Fe3O4. The observed differenc
es are attributed to interference effects and oxidation of the surface
of the thin layers. The results are compared to magnetisation and Ver
wey transition data.