A Robust Metal Oxide Thin Film with Saturation Magnetization Exceeding 2 Tesla

High saturation magnetization, hysteresis-less long linear response range, and resistance to devicefabrication conditions are figures of merit for magnetic materials in science and technology.Despite advances in materials research, many high-saturating micro- and nanomagnetic materialsare hysteresis-prone, have short linear ranges, and are sensitive to oxidation, resulting in deviceinefficiencies in high-frequency electronics and unpredictable responses in magnetic sensing applications.Holmium oxide is a promising material because of its high magnetic susceptibility,but synthetic options are limited, with low-temperature magnetism incompletely characterized.Here, we present physical vapor deposition synthesis and material characterization of polycrystallineholmium oxide thin films. The product has saturation magnetization exceeding 2 Tesla,linear range (μ₀H) also exceeding 2 Tesla, zero magnetic remanence and coercivity, and resistanceto harsh processing conditions including oxygen plasma and concentrated hydrofluoricacid etching, making these thin films ideal for fabricating next-generation nanoscale magneticdevices in advanced scientific and engineering applications.

Keywords: magnetic thin film, 2 Tesla saturation magnetization, chemically robust, holmium oxide, hysteresis-free, quantitative magnetic metrology

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Trepka, Kai and Hauert, Roland and Cancellieri, Claudia and Tao, Ye, A Robust Metal Oxide Thin Film with Saturation Magnetization Exceeding 2 Tesla. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3565042 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3565042

This version of the paper has not been formally peer reviewed.