Publications Repository - Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf

The spinel NiCo2O4 (NCO) exhibits unique combination of electrical conductivity, infrared transparency, electro catalytic activity, and ferrimagnetic order, which makes it an attractive material for spintronic applications.1 The NCO thin-films electrical and magnetic properties can be manipulated from high temperature ferrimagnetic and metallic to low temperature ferromagnetic and insulating by changing the growth temperature.2 The high quality epitaxial NCO films were grown on MgAl2O4 (100) substrate at ~ 400°C exhibits metallic behavior accompanied by ferrimagnetic order with moment ~ 2 μB/fu.1,2 Here, we report the impact of He-ion irradiation with fluence ranging from 5×1015/cm2 – 3×1016/cm2 on these metallic NCO films. The use of He-ion irradiation results in the coherent control of out-of-plane lattice parameter of these films without changing its in-plane lattice parameter (Figure 1). The comprehensive study of magnetization data reveals the magnetic moment increases drastically to ~ 4 μB/fu (Figure 1). The X-ray absorption spectroscopic study also suggests the possible charge redistribution within the octahedral sites of the NCO films which corroborates well with the increase in the magnetic moment.