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Updated: May 6, 2026

Methods of Ex Situ and In Situ Investigations of Structural Transformations: The Case of Crystallization of Metallic Glasses
Published on: June 7, 2018
Origin of anomalous magnetite properties in crystallographic matched heterostructures: Fe3O4(111)/MgAl2O4(111)
1Department of Physics, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, UK.
Abstract:
Magnetite films grown on crystallographically matched substrates such as MgAl2O4 are not expected to show anomalous properties such as negative magnetoresistance and high saturation fields. By atomic resolution imaging using scanning transmission electron microscopy we show direct evidence of anti-phase domain boundaries (APB) present in these heterostructures. Experimentally identified 1/4<101> shifts determine the atomic structure of the observed APBs. The dominant non-bulk superexchange interactions are between 180° octahedral-Fe/O/octahedral-Fe sites which provide strong antiferromagnetic coupling across the defect interface resulting in non-bulk magnetic and magnetotransport properties.
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