Control of magnetic properties in metallo-organic thin films

Magnetic metallo-organic thin films have been prepared at different growth temperatures to characterize the influence of structural properties on the magnetic characteristics. A quantitative analysis of the grain size shows that the growth temperature increases the elliptical grain size considerably. Long grains of planar iron phthalocyanine form quasi one-dimensional iron chains, which are embedded in a carbon matrix along the other two dimensions. The chains are narrowly spaced (1.3 nm) and run parallel to the substrate. Temperature-dependent magnetization curves depend on the structural details of the iron chains. These magnetic properties are tuned with deposition parameters.