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Highly ordered superlattices are typically created through the sequential deposition of two different materials. Here, we report our experimental observation of spontaneous formation of superlattices in coevaporation of Au and Ni under energetic ion bombardment. The superlattice periodicities are on the order of a few nanometers and can be adjusted through the energy and flux of ion beams. Such a self-organization process is a consequence of the bombardment-induced segregation and uphill diffusion within the advancing nanoscale subsurface zone in the film growth. Our observations suggest that ion beams can be employed to make tunable natural superlattices in the deposition of phase-separated systems with strong bombardment-induced segregation.

Epitaxial thin films of barium hexaferrite (BaFe12O19) have been fabricated by the pulsed laser deposition technique on basal plane sapphire. Structural studies reveal the films to be predominantly single phase and crystalline, with the c axis oriented perpendicular to the film plane. The magnetic parameters deduced from vibrating sample magnetometer and ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) measurements are close to the parameters associated with bulk materials. Post annealing of the films reduced the FMR linewidth by more than a factor of 3 so that it compares reasonably well with single-crystal films. The derivative FMR linewidth was measured to be 66 Oe at 58 GHz and 54 Oe at 86 GHz. Spin-wave-like modes have been observed for the first time in barium ferrite films. The deduced exchange stiffness constant of 0.5×10−6 ergs/cm is in reasonable agreement with recent calculations.

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