Influence of tetragonal distortion on magnetic and magneto-optical properties of copper ferrite films Original Research Article

A series of copper ferrite films was prepared using RF magnetron sputtering techniques. Annealing of the films at 450 and 650°C in air brought about changes of the tetragonal distortion of the spinel lattice enabling to investigate the influence of the tetragonal distortion on magnetic and magneto-optical properties. Faraday rotations up to 2°/μm at 442 nm, coercive fields up to 1800 Oe and high squareness of the hysteresis loops up to 0.9 could be attained by 2 h annealing at 650°C followed by slow cooling.