Reduction formed europium (II) oxide thin films for cryogenic magneto-optic applications

de Quidt, Mark J., Read, Dan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4178-4986, Giblin, Sean R. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1876-8619, Morgan, David J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6571-5731 and Shutts, Samuel ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6751-7790 2026. Reduction formed europium (II) oxide thin films for cryogenic magneto-optic applications. AIP Advances 16 (4) , 045220. 10.1063/5.0314582

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Abstract

Magneto-optic materials have significant potential in next generation photonic integrated circuits (PICs) as a tool for optical modulation and isolation. Europium (II) oxide (EuO) is a ferromagnetic semiconductor that exhibits a strong interaction with the magneto-optic Faraday effect and magneto-optic Kerr effects (MOKE). In this study, PIC compatible europium oxide thin films were deposited on silicon substrates via reductive sputtering. The films were tested for their magnetic and material properties via vibrating sample magnetometry and depth profiling x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The films show soft ferromagnetic EuO, with coercivity values as low as 59.3 Oe and the expected ferromagnetic magnetic transition at the Curie temperature (TC) of 69 K. This low TC limits room temperature applications, but has significant potential in the growing field of cryogenic computing systems.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Chemistry Schools > Physics and Astronomy Research Institutes & Centres > Institute for Compound Semiconductors (ICS)
Additional Information:	License information from Publisher: LICENSE 1: URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, Start Date: 2026-04-17
Publisher:	American Institute of Physics
Funders:	EPSRC
Projects:	S02444/1, EP/Y023587/1, EP/Y023609/1, EP/Y023536/1, EP/Y023552/1 and EP/Y023544/1
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	5 May 2026
Date of Acceptance:	6 April 2026
Last Modified:	07 Aug 2026 22:17
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/186795

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