Magnetite is a half-metal with a high Curie temperature of 858 K, making it a promising candidate for magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs). Yet, initial efforts to exploit its half metallic nature in Fe3O4/MgO/Fe3O4 MTJ structures have been far from promising. Finding suitable barrier layer materials, which keep the half metallic nature of Fe3O4 at the interface between Fe3O4 layers and barrier layer, is one of main challenges in this field. Two-dimensional (2D) materials may be good candidates for this purpose. Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is a transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) semiconductor with distinctive electronic, optical, and catalytic properties. Here, we show based on the first principle calculations that Fe3O4 keeps a nearly fully spin polarized electron band at the interface between MoS2 and Fe3O4. We also present the first attempt to fabricate the Fe3O4/MoS2/Fe3O4 MTJs. A clear tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) signal was observed below 200 K. Thus, our experimental and theoretical studies indicate that MoS2 can be a good barrier material for Fe3O4 based MTJs. Our calculations also indicate that junctions incorporating monolayer or bilayer MoS2 are metallic.

We investigate the magnetic and transport properties of epitaxial stepped Fe3O4 thin films grown with different thicknesses. Magnetization measurements suggest that the steps induce additional anisotropy, which has an easy axis perpendicular to steps and the hard axis along the steps. Separate local transport measurements, with nano-gap contacts along a single step and perpendicular to a single step, suggest the formation of a high density of anti-phase boundaries (APBs) at the step edges are responsible for the step induced anisotropy. Our local transport measurements also indicate that APBs distort the long range charge-ordering of magnetite.

Magnesium ferrite is a very important magnetic material due to its interesting magnetic and electrical properties and its chemical and thermal stability. Here we report on the magnetic and transport properties of epitaxial MgFe2O4 thin films grown on MgO (001) by molecular beam epitaxy. The structural properties and chemical composition of the MgFe2O4 films were characterized by X-Ray diffraction and X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. The nonsaturation of the magnetization in high magnetic fields observed for M (H) measurements and the linear negative magnetoresistance (MR) curves indicate the presence of anti-phase boundaries (APBs) in MgFe2O4. The presence of APBs was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. Moreover, post annealing decreases the resistance and enhances the MR of the film, suggesting migration of the APBs. Our results may be valuable for the application of MgFe2O4 in spintronics.

Reflectance anisotropy spectroscopy (RAS) has been used to measure the optical anisotropies of bulk and thin film Fe3O4(110) surfaces. The spectra indicate that small shifts in energy of the optical transitions, associated with anisotropic strain or electric field gradients caused by the (110) surface termination or an native oxide layer, are responsible for the strong signal observed. The RAS response was then measured as a function of temperature. A distinct change in the RAS line shape amplitude was observed in the spectral range from 0.8 to 1.6 eV for temperatures below the Verwey transition of the crystal. Finally thin film magnetite was grown by molecular beam epitaxy on MgO(110) substrates. Changes in the RAS spectra were found for different film thickness, suggesting that RAS can be used to monitor the growth of magnetite (110) films in situ. The thickness dependence of the RAS is discussed in terms of various models for the origin of the RAS signal.

Ultrathin films of Fe3O4 have been grown epitaxially on nearly lattice matched MgO(001). The stability of 4 nm thick films in ambient air and under annealing in an oxygen atmosphere at 200 °C has been studied. By magneto optical and Raman measurements, we can confirm the presence of the Fe3O4 phase and the formation of a maghemite top layer passivating the Fe3O4 thin film. In a second step, we are able to demonstrate that this top layer oxidation in ambient air can be prevented by a 2 nm thick magnesium ferrite passivation layer, while a thicker 20 nm MgO layer prevents oxidation even at elevated temperatures.