LAUSR

Abstract Single-step thermal chemical vapor deposition was optimized at 400 °C for the growth of CoFe2O4 spinel thin films starting from the corresponding metal acetylacetonate precursors. Enhanced magnetization was observed for conditions leading to a columnar growth with a preferred (100) orientation. The implemented liquid precursor delivery secured a reliable films’ composition control and a straightforward dosage of acetylacetone, as a molecular growth inhibitor, to enhance the film conformality on structured surfaces. The optimized conditions enabled an efficient micro-pore filling, and the fabricated ordered micropillar arrays feature a coercivity of 1.8 kOe and a saturation magnetization of 350 emu/cm3. The implemented state-of-the-art up-scalable microfabrication technology, the reasonable thermal budget and the resulting high magnetic performance pave the way towards the development of innovative magnetoelectric devices.