Composite magnetic and non-magnetic oxide nanostructures fabricated by a laser-based technique

Highlights: • PLD in open air in a magnetic field was applied to fabrication of composites. • Composite materials were produced consisting of arranged Fe₃O₄ nanowires decorated with ZnO or TiO₂ nanoparticles. • The degree of nanowires' orientation worsens with the increase of non-magnetic component. • The key factor defining the efficient composite fabrication is the difference in the initial materials' ablation threshold. The paper presents experimental results on fabricating composite nanostructures consisting of magnetic and non-magnetic metal oxide nanoparticles. The samples were produced by a single-step process of pulsed laser deposition carried out in air at atmospheric pressure in the presence of a magnetic field. Part of the depositions was performed by ablation of two metals simultaneously – Fe and Zn, and Fe and Ti. Another part of the experiments included simultaneous depositions from metal oxide targets – Fe₂O₃ and ZnO, and Fe₂O₃ and TiO₂ as well as from metal and metal oxide (Fe-TiO₂) targets. The depositions were performed in a magnetic field in order to control the magnetic nanoparticles produced in the plasma plume and thus, the morphology of the composite nanostructures. The structure and morphology of the structures obtained were studied as related to the samples' composition. It was found that the difference in the ablation threshold of the initial ablated materials determines the use of a specific methodology for composite fabrication. The nanostructures prepared could be used in the design of novel magneto-optic and sensor devices.