Ferromagnetic Epitaxial μ-Fe$_{2}$O$_{3}$ on β-Ga$_{2}$O$_{3}$: A New Monoclinic form of Fe$_{2}$O$_{3}$

Abstract

Here we demonstrate a new monoclinic iron oxide phase (μ-Fe$_{2}$O$_{3}$), epitaxially stabilized by growth on (010) β-Ga$_{2}$O$_{3}$. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations find that the lattice parameters of freestanding μ-Fe$_{2}$O$_{3}$ are within ~1% of those of β-Ga$_{2}$O$_{3}$ and that its energy of formation is comparable to that of naturally abundant Fe$_{2}$O$_{3}$ polytypes. A superlattice of μ-Fe$_{2}$O$_{3}$/β-Ga$_{2}$O$_{3}$ is grown by plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy, with resulting high-resolution x-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements indicating that the μ-Fe$_{2}$O$_{3}$ layers are lattice-matched to the substrate. The measured out-of-plane (b) lattice parameter of 3.12 $\pm$ 0.4 Å is in agreement with the predicted lattice constants and atomic-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) images confirm complete registry of the μ-Fe$_{2}$O$_{3}$ layers with β-Ga$_{2}$O$_{3}$. Finally, DFT modeling predicts that bulk μ-Fe$_{2}$O$_{3}$ is antiferromagnetic, while the interface region between μ-Fe$_{2}$O$_{3}$ and β-Ga$_{2}$O$_{3}$ leads to ferromagnetic coupling between interface Fe$^{3+}$ cations selectively occupying tetrahedral positions. Magnetic hysteresis persisting to room temperature is observed via SQUID measurements, consistent with the computationally predicted interface magnetism.