%0 Journal Article
%A Tober, Steffen
%A Creutzburg, Marcus
%A Arndt, Björn
%A Krausert, Konstantin
%A Mattauch, Stefan
%A Koutsioubas, Alexandros
%A Pütter, Sabine
%A Mohd, Amir Syed
%A Volgger, Lukas
%A Hutter, Herbert
%A Noei, Heshmat
%A Vonk, Vedran
%A Lott, Dieter
%A Stierle, Andreas
%T Observation of iron diffusion in the near-surface region of magnetite at 470 K
%J Physical review research
%V 2
%N 2
%@ 2643-1564
%C College Park, MD
%I APS
%M FZJ-2020-02454
%P 023406
%D 2020
%X Experiments are reported, which allow us to quantify the near-surface cation diffusion in (001) oriented Fe$_3$O$_4$ single crystals at temperatures between 470 and 770 K. Thin homoepitaxial films of magnetite, grown using isotopically labeled $^{57}$Fe, were investigated by neutron reflectivity and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry. By heating the thin films in high vacuum to different temperatures for a well-defined time and determining the ${57}$ Fe distribution along the surface normal, the diffusion lengths are obtained. For the investigated temperature range, diffusion constants of the order of 10$^{−20}$ m$^2$/s are deduced. These results are important in view of near-surface mass transport induced by oxygen chemical potential differences occurring when magnetite is exposed to different gas atmospheres or by adsorbates.
%F PUB:(DE-HGF)16
%9 Journal Article
%U <Go to ISI:>//WOS:000603643500003
%R 10.1103/PhysRevResearch.2.023406
%U https://juser.fz-juelich.de/record/877787