Study of p-Fe3O4/n-(GaAs, Si) heterostructures: Fabrication and physical properties

Abstract

We report preparation and investigation of p-n heterostructures based on Fe3O4 thin films grown on semiconductor Si and GaAs substrates. Fe3O4 films with thickness ranging from 60 to 300 nm were grown at 350 ÷ 450°C using dc magnetron sputtering technique. The measurement of X-ray diffraction and reflection high energy electron diffraction revealed polycrystalline microstructure of thin Fe 3O4 films deposited on both Si and GaAs substrate. Investigation of surface composition by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed that Fe 2p peak consists of three main peaks, namely, metallic iron Fe(0), Fe(II), and Fe(III). Transport measurements of Fe3O 4/n-(Si, GaAs) heterostructures demonstrated nonlinear current-voltage (I-V) dependences in the temperature range from 300 K to 78 K.