Oxidation Kinetics of Thin and Ultrathin Fe Films

We have studied oxidation kinetics of Fe thin films under atmospheric conditions using the fact that metallic iron is a ferromagnet but ultrathin natural iron oxides are practically nonmagnetic at room temperature. As a consequence, oxidation is associated with a loss in ferromagnetism. Fe thin films were deposited onto 1.5 nm V thick buffer layer using UHV magnetron sputtering. As a substrate we have used Si(100) wafers with an oxidised surface. Results show that all samples with an initial Fe thickness greater than 6 nm oxidize practically instantaneously, whereby a constant amount of 2.5 nm of metal is transformed into oxides. For iron thickness lower than 6 nm the time constant for oxidation increases considerably reaching a value of 30 days for the initial Fe thickness equal to 4 nm.