Thickness dependence of the resistivity tensor in epitaxial magnetite thin films

We report a systematic study of the thickness dependence of the resistivity tensor of epitaxial thin films of magnetite (Fe3O4). We find that decreasing film thickness decreases the relative magnitude of the terms related to crystal symmetry but increases their field dependence. We attribute this behavior to the presence of antiphase boundaries in thin films of magnetite and the dependence of their density on the film thickness. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.