Spray pyrolytic deposition of barium hexaferrite thin films for magnetic recording applications

Barium hexaferrite films with particles in the 50-80 nm size range have been prepared by a simple spray pyrolytic method starting from a citrate complex precursor. High nucleation rates during thermal decomposition of citrate precursor along with low growth rates ensure the formation of nanoparticles. The particles have a predominantly perpendicular easy-axis orientation and a perpendicular coercivity of 5000 Oe. The angular-dependent coercivity measurements show a nearly monotonic angular dependence indicating weaker grain interaction and low media noise in these films, an extremely useful property for application in high-density recording media.