SOLICITATION NOTICE
A -- Thin-film Crystalline Cobalt Ferrate (CoFe2O4) by Molecular Beam Epitaxy
- Notice Date
- 2/15/2002
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- Contracting Office
- Department of Energy, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory - Battelle (DOE Contractor), PNNL Licensing, PO Box 999, MSIN K9-89, Richland, WA, 99352
- ZIP Code
- 99352
- Solicitation Number
- Reference-Number-12869
- Response Due
- 4/1/2002
- Archive Date
- 4/16/2002
- Point of Contact
- Connie Mitzel-Faulk, Licensing Staff, Phone (509) 375-6401, Fax (509) 375-6731, - Connie Mitzel-Faulk, Licensing Staff, Phone (509) 375-6401, Fax (509) 375-6731,
- E-Mail Address
-
technology@pnl.gov, technology@pnl.gov
- Description
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), operated by Battelle Memorial Institute under contract to the U.S. Department of Energy, solicits interest from companies interested in obtaining license rights to commercialize, manufacture and market the following technology. License rights may be issued on an exclusive or nonexclusive basis and may include specific fields of use. PNNL may also be available to licensee(s) to assist in further research and development of the technology under a sponsored research agreement or CRADA program. The Technology: Cobalt ferrate (CoFe2O4) is a magnetic oxide of considerable interest for next-generation magnetic read/write technology due to its enhanced magnetic properties. Although the properties of the bulk material are well understood, well defined thin-films (<100nm) have not been synthesized and characterized. By using molecular beam epitaxy, we present here epitaxial films of cobalt ferrate on MgO(001) possessing compositions within 10% of the desired 2:1 Fe to Co ratio within the cation sublattice of the inverse spinel structure. The material shows excellent promise as a pinning layer in read/write devices that would operate at or above room temperature. Well-ordered crystalline films with atomically flat surfaces result from this growth process, and the resulting material exhibits a strain-dependant magnetic anisotropy that is determined largely by film thickness, but that exhibits a Curie temperature above 300C. Structural and surface morphological studies by RHEED, XRD and AFM reveal excellent crystallinity and atomically flat film surfaces. Typical RHEED patterns for the substrate and film surfaces reveal both the extent of crystallographic order and flatness of the film surface. The new diffraction streaks seen in the film patterns are characteristic of the factor-of-two difference in the lattice parameters for MgO and Co ferrite. AFM images reveal root-mean-square roughnesses of only 0.1 - 0.2 nm for 100 nm thick films, which is considerably better than that published for PLD grown Co ferrite. In addition, out-of-plane XRD rocking curves obtained with non-monochromatic Cu Ka x-rays reveal full-width at half-maximum values of -0.09 degrees, which indicates excellent crystallinity within the bulk of the film. Finally, MFM images reveal large, stable magnetic domains of lateral dimension ? 140 nm for 100 nm thick films. In addition, SQUID hysteresis loops show in-plane magnetic remanences of 65% and 40% at 150K and 300K, respectively, for a field orientation along [100]. The in-plane coercive field as a function of temperature shows very high values at low temperatures (e.g. >14 KOe at 125K), but also -1 KOe at 350K, revealing that the Curie temperature is above 300K. Thus, the material shows excellent promise as a pinning layer in read/write devices that would operate at or above room temperature. Patent Pending. Note: THIS IS NOT A PROCUREMENT. Any company interested in licensing this technology must respond with a letter of interest (may be submitted by e-mail) no later than 30 days from the publication date of this Notice summarizing the company?s business and technical expertise and motivation for pursuing this opportunity. Companies deemed appropriate will be provided with further information on the technology. Such information may require an executed Nondisclosure Agreement. Respondents wishing to enter into negotiations for a commercial license will be required to submit a business plan for the commercialization of the technology prior to licensee(s) selection and negotiations. Please send letters of interest to the attention of the POC identified within this Notice.
- Record
- SN00027186-W 20020217/020215213044 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
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