Study of site-disorder in epitaxial magneto-electric GaFeO3 thin films

Epitaxial thin films of GaFeO3 (GFO) with different thicknesses (22–170 nm) are prepared on (001) oriented yttria-stabilized zirconia substrate using pulsed laser deposition. The M-H data measured below Curie temperature (TC) mimic two phase composite magnetic system consisting of hard and soft magnetic phases. The results are explained in terms of Fe distribution among the available cation sites of GFO. Thermo-magnetic irreversibility and cusp in zero-field cooled magnetization are observed for all the films and are explained in terms of the magnetic anisotropy of the GFO.