Orientador: Maria Aparecida Zaghete / Banca: Laudemir Carlos Varanda / Banca: Talita Mazon Anselmo / Resumo: O termo multiferróico (ou ferroeletromagnético) é utilizado para descrever materiais que apresentam duas ou mais das propriedades ferróicas primárias (ferroeletricidade, ferromagnetismo ou ferroelasticidade) ocorrendo na mesma fase. Tais materiais são conhecidos desde a década de 60, entretanto, sua potencial aplicação no armazenamento de informações tem despertado grande interesse da comunidade cientifica nos últimos anos. O BiFeO3 tem recebido especial atenção devido à coexistência de propriedades ferroelétricas e magnéticas. Devido a este acoplamento novas possibilidades de armazenamento de dados, em elementos de memória ferroelétrica, podem ser criadas de forma não destrutiva. Este material proporciona uma alternativa para substituição de compostos ferroelétricos e piezelétricos livres de chumbo, sendo ambientalmente favorável. A ferrita de bismuto é um dos candidatos, por ser um material ferroelétrico com temperatura de Curie (TC) relativamente alta  1000 K e por exibir comportamento antiferromagnético com temperatura de Neel (TN)  643 K. Estas características fazem com que este material apresente um grande valor de polarização espontânea Ps. Nessa linha de estudo, a pesquisa buscou obter filmes finos e nanoestruturas de BiFeO3 puro e dopado com Sm. Os filmes finos foram depositados sobre substrato de Pt/TiO2/SiO2/Si utilizando spin coating e solução precursora preparada pelo método dos precursores poliméricos, tratados a 500oC por 2h. Os difratogramas de raios X (DRX) e a microscopia de força atômica (AFM) mostraram que os filmes não apresentam fase secundária, a microestrutura tem tamanho de grão homogêneo e distribuição uniforme na superfície. A histerese ferroelétrica dos filmes de BFO puro, apresentaram valores de (Pr) 2,93 C/cm2 e campo coercitivo... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The term multiferroic (or ferroeletromagnetic) is used to describe materials that have two or more properties ferroic primary (ferroelectricity, ferromagnetism or ferroelasticity) occurring at the same phase. This kind of materials are known since the 60's, however, its potential application in the information store has been much interest from the scientific community in recent years. The BiFeO3 has received special attention due to the coexistence of ferroelectric and magnetic properties. Because of this coupling new possibilities for data storage in ferroelectric memory elements can be created in a non-destructive. This material provides an alternative replacement for ferroelectric and piezoelectric compounds of lead-free and environmentally excellent. The bismuth ferrite is a candidate for being a ferroelectric material with high Curie temperature (Tc)  1000 K and exhibit antiferromagnetic behavior with Neel temperature (TN). These characteristics make this material presents a large value of spontaneous polarization Ps. In this line of study, the research sought to obtain thin films and nanostructures BiFeO3 pure and doped with Sm. The thin films were deposited on Pt/TiO2/SiO2/Si substrates using spin coating and precursor solution prepared by the polymeric precursors treated at 500oC for 2 hours. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) showed that the films do not exhibit secondary phase, the microstructure is homogeneous grain size and uniform distribution on the surface. The hysteresis of films BFO pure showed values of (Pr) 2.93 C/cm2 and coercive field (Ec) of 7.4 kV / cm for an applied electric field of 15 kV / cm. The doped with samarium showed an increase in the value of remanent polarization with increasing dopant concentration. The BFO nanostructures and doped with... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Orientador: Luis Vicente de Andrade Scalvi / Banca: José Antonio Malmonge / Banca: Maximo Siu Li / O Programa de Pós Graduação em Ciência e Tecnologia de Materiais, PosMat, tem caráter institucional e integra as atividades de pesquisa em materiais de diversos campi / Resumo: O objetivo principal deste trabalho é elucidar quais são os mecanismos de transporte de portadores de carga presentes na interface entre SnO2 e o contato metálico, pois tal conhecimento é fundamental para a aplicação na eletrônica. Além disso, é objetivo aqui também, estudar características de transporte em SnO2 dopado com alguns íons terras-raras. As amostras de SnO2 dopadas em Eu3+ e Ce3+ utilizadas nesta pesquisa foram sintetizadas a partir do método sol-gel e os filmes finos depositados pela técnica "dip-coating". Os contatos estudados foram feitos a partir dos metais In, Sn e Al, depositados via evaporação resistiva. Medidas de resistência em função da temperatura nas amostras dopadas com Eu indicaram uma variação significativa da resistividade, de até 10 vezes, quando alterado o metal do contato. Isto se deve a diferença entre a função de trabalho de cada metal, que consequentemente acarreta em variação da barreira de potencial na junção metal-semicondutor. Pela característica das curvas de corrente medida em função da tensão aplicada, observou-se que os dois mecanismos de condução elétrica dominantes na interface são a emisssão termiônica, quando em baixas temperaturas e tensões de menor intensidade, e o tunelamento através da barreira, quando em temperaturas mais altas e tensões de maior intensidade. Com base nesses resultados e na aplicação do método proposto por Rhoderick estimou-se os valores da altura da barreira de potencial na junção metal-semicondutor, em 132 meV, 162 meV e 187 meV para os metais In, Al, Sn, respectivamente. Além disso, o tratamento térmico realizado nas amostras promoveu, de modo geral, a diminuição da resistividade do dispositivo devido, provavelmente, ao estreitamento da barreira de potencial e consequente aumento da... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The main goal of this work is the verification of electrical transport mechanisms of charge carriers at the interface between SnO2 and the metallic contact, because this knowledge is fundamental for electronic applications. Besides, another goal here is to investigate transport characteristics of rare-earth doped SnO2 samples doped with Eu3+ and Ce3+ used in this research were made from the sol-gel method and the thin films were deposited via dip-coating technique. The analyzed contacts were deposited from metals In, Sn and Al, via resistive evaporation technique. Resistance as function of temperature measurements applied to Eu-doped samples indicates a significant resistivity, up to 10 times, when the contact metal is varied. This is due to the differences in the work function of each metal, leading to variation in the potential barrier at interface of the metal-semiconductor junction. The characteristics of the current-voltage curves yield two dominant electrical mechanisms at the interface: thermo-ionic emission, for low temperatures and higher applied bias, and quantum tunneling through the barrier, when the temperature is higher and so is the applied bias magnitude. Based on these results and the application of the method proposed by Rhoderick, the potential barrier height of metal-semiconductor junction values were evaluated, yielding 132 meV, 162 meV and 187 meV for the metals In, Al and Sn, respectively. Besides, generally speaking, thermal annealing promotes the resistivity decrease, probably due to the potential barrier narrowing, increasing the tunneling probability. The variation of Ce3+ concentration, from 0,1% also leads to variation in the device resistivity, but this is not related to the potential at the junction interface, instead it is related with other bulk factors, as the charge... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:25:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2010-12-10Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:53:42Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 biasotto_g_me_araiq.pdf: 3363567 bytes, checksum: 3960e4ed9e95d6d539b951ea493d856a (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / O termo multiferróico (ou ferroeletromagnético) é utilizado para descrever materiais que apresentam duas ou mais das propriedades ferróicas primárias (ferroeletricidade, ferromagnetismo ou ferroelasticidade) ocorrendo na mesma fase. Tais materiais são conhecidos desde a década de 60, entretanto, sua potencial aplicação no armazenamento de informações tem despertado grande interesse da comunidade cientifica nos últimos anos. O BiFeO3 tem recebido especial atenção devido à coexistência de propriedades ferroelétricas e magnéticas. Devido a este acoplamento novas possibilidades de armazenamento de dados, em elementos de memória ferroelétrica, podem ser criadas de forma não destrutiva. Este material proporciona uma alternativa para substituição de compostos ferroelétricos e piezelétricos livres de chumbo, sendo ambientalmente favorável. A ferrita de bismuto é um dos candidatos, por ser um material ferroelétrico com temperatura de Curie (TC) relativamente alta  1000 K e por exibir comportamento antiferromagnético com temperatura de Neel (TN)  643 K. Estas características fazem com que este material apresente um grande valor de polarização espontânea Ps. Nessa linha de estudo, a pesquisa buscou obter filmes finos e nanoestruturas de BiFeO3 puro e dopado com Sm. Os filmes finos foram depositados sobre substrato de Pt/TiO2/SiO2/Si utilizando spin coating e solução precursora preparada pelo método dos precursores poliméricos, tratados a 500oC por 2h. Os difratogramas de raios X (DRX) e a microscopia de força atômica (AFM) mostraram que os filmes não apresentam fase secundária, a microestrutura tem tamanho de grão homogêneo e distribuição uniforme na superfície. A histerese ferroelétrica dos filmes de BFO puro, apresentaram valores de (Pr) 2,93 C/cm2 e campo coercitivo... / The term multiferroic (or ferroeletromagnetic) is used to describe materials that have two or more properties ferroic primary (ferroelectricity, ferromagnetism or ferroelasticity) occurring at the same phase. This kind of materials are known since the 60's, however, its potential application in the information store has been much interest from the scientific community in recent years. The BiFeO3 has received special attention due to the coexistence of ferroelectric and magnetic properties. Because of this coupling new possibilities for data storage in ferroelectric memory elements can be created in a non-destructive. This material provides an alternative replacement for ferroelectric and piezoelectric compounds of lead-free and environmentally excellent. The bismuth ferrite is a candidate for being a ferroelectric material with high Curie temperature (Tc)  1000 K and exhibit antiferromagnetic behavior with Neel temperature (TN). These characteristics make this material presents a large value of spontaneous polarization Ps. In this line of study, the research sought to obtain thin films and nanostructures BiFeO3 pure and doped with Sm. The thin films were deposited on Pt/TiO2/SiO2/Si substrates using spin coating and precursor solution prepared by the polymeric precursors treated at 500oC for 2 hours. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) showed that the films do not exhibit secondary phase, the microstructure is homogeneous grain size and uniform distribution on the surface. The hysteresis of films BFO pure showed values of (Pr) 2.93 C/cm2 and coercive field (Ec) of 7.4 kV / cm for an applied electric field of 15 kV / cm. The doped with samarium showed an increase in the value of remanent polarization with increasing dopant concentration. The BFO nanostructures and doped with... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

The magnetic recording media used for hard disks in laptops and PC's is constantly being improved, leading to rapid increases in data rate and storage density. However, by the year 2010, it is predicted that the superparamagnetic limit will be reached, which is potentially insufficient for data storage. At the beginning of this century, CoCr -based alloys are used in longitudinal media since cobalt has a high magnetocrystalline anisotropy. In this thesis, the static and dynamic properties of longitudinal recording thin films were investigated in order to explain and correlate their magnetic characteristics to their recording properties. The samples in question were test samples and some were in commercial use. Magnetic techniques such as high field ferromagnetic resonance and torque magnetometry were used to determine accurately the crystalline anisotropy field. High field ferromagnetic resonance is an ideal tool to determine the crystalline anisotropy, magnetisation, Lande g-factor and the gyromagnetic damping factor. In contrast to previous work, there are no FMR simulations and so all the relevant parameters were determined directly from measurement. Ideally, there should be no exchange interactions between the neighbouring cobalt grains; however, interactions between the grains within the CoCr-alloy recording layer exist. Previous work on the measurements of interactions in recording media involves measuring the sample's magnetisation. In this thesis, an alternative novel method involves torque magnetometry. Another technique that was used in this thesis is small angle neutron scattering, which aims to determine the size of the magnetic grains and compare that with the physical size determined from TEM, by Seagate. There is an extended section on CoxAg1-x granular thin films, which involves determining the sample's g-factor, effective anisotropy, grain size, exchange constant and comparing the FMR lineshapes at 9.5 and 92GHz.

Orientador: Hermes Adolfo de Aquino / Coorientador: Victor Ciro Solano Reynoso / Banca: José Humberto Dias da Silva / Banca: Norberto Luiz Amsei Júnior / Resumo: Neste trabalho, o objeto de estudo foi células Solares CdS/CdTe. Estas células usam o filme de sulfeto de cádmio (CdS) como semicondutor do tipo n e o filme de telureto de cádmio (CdTe) como semicondutor do tipo p. O recorde mundial, alcançado no laboratório, para estas células é 16,5% de eficiência. Nos Laboratórios do Departamento de Física e Química de Unesp - Ilha Solteira, este trabalho é pioneiro na fabricação de Células Solares de CdS/CdTe. Para realizar este trabalho foi necessário melhorar o sistema de deposição por spray de SnO2:F já existente, acondicionar o sistema de banho químico para deposição do filme de CdS e implementar o sistema de sublimação para depositar a camada de CdTe. Todos estes sistemas de deposição de filmes finos foram implementados no laboratório do Grupo de Desenvolvimento e Aplicação de Materiais (GDAM). A fabricação da Célula Solar CdS/CdTe consistiu na deposição sequencial sobre vidro de a) Eletrodo condutor transparente utilizando óxido de estanho dopado com Flúor (SnO2:F) pelo método de spray, com controle automático de jato; b) deposição de sulfeto de Cádmio (CdS) pelo método de banho Químico (CBD); c) deposição de Telureto de Cádmio (CdTe) pela técnica de sublimação no espaço fechado (CSS) e d) deposição do contato metálico traseiro de prata por colocação de camada liquida e posteriormente a melhora deste contato com grafite-prata. A estrutura final destas células foi: Vidro/SnO2:F/CdS/CdTe/contato. A caracterização estrutural e óptica das camadas destas células foi realizada pelas técnicas de DRX e UV-vis; os parâmetros elétricos das células foram determinados pela construção da curva I-V. A camada CdTe da célula solar foi tratada termicamente com dicloreto de cádmio (CdCl2) para comparar a sua eficiência com outra célula que não foi tratada... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The object of this work was the study solar Cells CdS/CdTe. These cells use a cadmium sulfide film as an n-type semiconductor and a cadmium telluride film as a p- type semiconductor The world record for maximum efficiency achieved in laboratory for these cells is 16.5%. In laboratories of Departament of Physics and Chemistry of Unesp-Ilha Solteira, this work is a pioneer in the manufacture of CdS/CdTe Solar Cell. To carry out this work it was necessary to improve the existing system of Spray deposition of SnO2: F, conditioning of the system for chemical bath deposition of CdS film and manufacture the sublimation system to deposit the CdTe layer. All of these systems for the deposition of thin films were developed in the laboratory. The manufacture of CdS/CdTe solar cell consisted of sequential deposition on glass of a) transparent conductive tin oxide doped with fluorine (SnO 2:F) using automatic control system of the spray; b) deposition of cadmium sulfide (CdS) for method (CBD); c) deposition of cadmium telluride for technique in closed space sublimation (CSS) and d) the rear metallic contact of silver was deposited by placing the liquid layer and subsequent improvement of contact with graphite-silver. The final structure of cell used in this work was: glass/SnO2:F/CdS/CdTe/contact. The CdTe solar cell layer was heat treated with cadmium dichloride (CdCl2) to compare its efficiency with another cell that was not treated with cadmium dichloride. Then we investigated the performance of only putting back metal contact layer of silver of silver and silver-graphite layer, the latter was giving better results, achieving an efficiency is a well more than 5% / Mestre

Orientador: Steven Frederick Durrant / Banca: José Humberto da Silva / Banca: Douglas S. Galvão / O Programa de Pós Graduação em Ciência e Tecnologia de Materiais, PosMat, tem caráter institucional e integra as atividades de pesquisa em materiais de diversos campi / Resumo: Filmes finos de carbono amorfo hidrogenado contendo silício e dopados com flúor foram produzudos pelos métodos de Deposição de Vapor Químico Assistido e Plasma (PECVD) e Deposição e Implantação Iônica por Imersão em Plasma (PIIID). Para PECVD foi utilizada uma pressão total de gases/vapor de 100 mTorr e inicialmente, 100W de potência de excitação. A proporção dos gases foi estudada, mantendo a concentração do hexametildisiloxano (HMDSO) em 75% e variando a proporção do argônio (Ar) e do hexafluoreto de enxofre (SF6). As porcentagens de flúor utilizadas na alimentação do plasma variaram em 0,6,9 e 12,5%. Visando maior concentração atômica de flúor na estrutura dos filmes, determinou-se a proporção de gases/vapor mais apropriada (75% HMDSO, 19% Ar e 6% SF6), e posteriormente, foi realizado um novo estudo da potência de excitação. Variando a potência entre 40 e 70 W, 50 W foi considerada como sendo a melhor condição de excitação para a descarga luminosa, considerando os efeitos causados pela corrosão relacionada ao flúor e a incorporação do elemento. Um estudo sobre as mesmas proporções foi realizada pela técnica de PIIID, com uma pressão total de 50 mTorr, potência de 50 W e pulsos negativos com magnitude de 800 V. Para este método o filme produzido com 12,5% de SF6 foi escolhido como sendo a melhor opção, tendo em vista que apresentou a maior quantidade atômica de flúor em sua estrutura. Posteriormente, a intensidade dos pulsos aplicados foi variada entre 544 e 14801 V, onde verificou-se que o aumento da intensidade dos pulsos resulta na diminuição da incorporação de flúor / Abstract: Hydrogenated amorphous carbon films containing silicon and doped with fluorine were produced by two methods: Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) and Deposition (PIIID). For PECVD a total pressure of 100 mTorr was used at a excitation power of 100 W. The gas/vapor proportion was studied, keeping 75% hexamethyldisiloxane and varying the argon (Ar) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) ratio. The following proportions of SF6) ratio. The following proportions of SF6 were examined: 0, 6, 9 and 12.5%. Aiming for the highest atomic concentration of fluorine in film structure the best condition (75% HMDSO, 19% Ar and 6% SF6) was determined and a new study of the influence of the radiofrequency power. Considering the corrosion effects gernerated by fluorine in the plasma, variation of the applied power between 40 and 70 W, allowed the selection of 50 W as the best conditions. A study employing the same proportior PIIID was performed using 50 mTorr of total pressure, an applied power of 50 W and a pulse bias of 800 V. Considering the results of the chemical characterizations, films were produced with 12.5% of SF6 in the plasma feed. Subsequently, bias voltage was varied between 544 and 1480 V, where it was observed that the increasing the pulse bias decreased the fluorine concentration in film structure / Mestre

Carbon encapsulated metal nanoparticles are an increasingly important class of materials due to the wide range of electronic, magnetic and mechanical properties they display. However, traditional deposition techniques are often complex or lead to a poor quality film. Ionised magnetron sputter deposition is a promising development to traditional magnetron sputtering which combines film deposition with ion bombardment. By adding an RF powered, inductively coupled plasma positioned between the deposition targets and the substrate, the ionisation fraction of the depositing flux is greatly increased. This additional ion flux can then be controlled through the use of an electrical substrate biasing. This controls the energy flux to the surface and therefore the resulting microstructure. Carbon-nickel thin films were grown by ionised magnetron sputter deposition. The films themselves were characterised using a wide variety of techniques to measure not only their structure but their properties. Additionally, the inductively coupled plasma itself was characterised using a Langmuir probe. It was determined that upon application of a negative substrate biasing, the ion flux to the growing film remained constant, however the energy of the species increased. This resulted in a columnar structure of nickel carbide which coarsened as the bias (and therefore the energy of the ions) was increased. Conversely the application of a positive bias gives a large flux of low energy bombardment. This led to the formation of metallic nickel nanoparticles (? 30 nm diameter) which were surrounded by several layers of ordered graphitic shells forming a so-called "nano-onion" structure. The transition between these phases is a result of an increase in adatom mobility when there is a high flux, low energy ion bombardment which allows the nickel and carbon to phase separate. Upon separating, the nickel templates graphite growth due to their similar bond lengths leading to the formation of the graphitic cages. The transition between these two structures is measured through X-ray diffraction which shows a transition from the hexagonal carbide phase to the cubic nickel phase. This is accompanied by an increase in ordering of the carbon as the bias is increased as measured by Raman spectroscopy. Additionally, it is observed that there is an increase in carbon ordering when a negative bias is applied, due to the additional energy from ion bombardment leading to graphite formation. Magnetic measurements showed a transition from a non-magnetic state when the structures were largely carbide, to a magnetic state when metallic. However at room temperature the structures display superparamagnetic behaviour due to the small size of the particles. Measurements of electronic conductivity showed a negative temperature coeffcient of resistivity for all samples demonstrating no metallic conduction path was present. A large drop in resistivity as the temperature increases was assigned to thermally activated conduction. At low temperatures the conductivity is dependent on tunnelling across small regions of amorphous carbon, while at higher temperatures it is possible to excite the electrons into a conduction band allowing them to conduct more easily.

A study of the structural and electrical properties of low-temperature-sublimed silicon films indicates that they are characterized by a high density of grain boundaries, hence crystal defects. A trapping model has been proposed to explain the experimentally observed temperature-dependencies of resistivity and carrier concentration of these films. The result shows that the defect density at the grain boundaries is of the order of 10¹² cmˉ², and that it is independent of the doping concentrations in the films. It has been shown that the thin-film metal-insulator-semi-conductor (MIS) structure can be reduced to a transmission line problem by expressing the equivalent capacitance of the structure as a series combination of the depletion capacitance and the insulator capacitance. The variations of both the capacitance and channel conductance of the MIS structure have been utilized to make notch filters in which the notch frequency can be varied over 200% by an external biasing voltage. In view of the need for maintaining a constant null depth in the semiconductor notch filter under various biasing potentials, a new notch network has been proposed in which the optimal notch condition could be maintained simply by designing the ratios of the lengths and widths of the MIS structure to the appropriate values. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Electrical and Computer Engineering, Department of / Graduate

A study has been made of the properties of thin yttrium oxide dielectric films prepared by the electron beam evaporation of high purity Y₂O₃ powder. Films deposited on freshly cleaved NaCl crystals and on polished n-type silicon were examined in the electron microscope. The specimens were found to be polycrystalline, with a crystal size of the order of 100 Å. The structure was found to be essentially the same as found for bulk Y₂O₃. D.C. conduction measurements were made on films of various thicknesses. The characteristics were found to be bulk-limited, with the conductivity decreasing at lower pressures. An activation energy of 0.6 eV was found. The conduction mechanism was believed to be Poole-Frenkel emission of electrons from donor centers into the Y₂O₃ conduction band. The donor centers were believed to be interstitial yttrium atoms rather than oxygen vacancies because of the pressure dependence observed in conductivity. Step response measurements were made, and the results explained on the basis of a loss peak with a most probable relaxation time of 200 seconds. The relaxation of oxygen atoms dissolved in the anion defective Y₂O₃ lattice was assumed to be the mechanism. The results of step response and A.C. bridge loss measurements indicated that different relaxation mechanisms are dominant in different frequency ranges. Internal photoemission measurements were made on Al-Y₂O₃-Al sandwiches. The energy barrier between the electrodes was found to be trapezoidal, with barrier heights of 3.14 and 3.72 eV. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Electrical and Computer Engineering, Department of / Graduate

The magnetic behavior of cubic B20 crystal structure FeSi thin film has been previously probed at macroscopic level using a magnetometer. The results revealed ferromagnetic state with significant hysteresis. This is contrary to the bulk with the same cubic B20 crystal structure that is paramagnetic. The origin of ferromagnetism in thin films in contrast to paramagnetism in the bulk is unclear and unexplained. Electron spin resonance technique (ESR) was used as a tool to characterize the magnetic behavior of FeSi thin films at microscopic level. With ESR technique, B20 crystalline FeSi show microwave power absorption centred at zero field (HDC = 0) termed low-field microwave absorption (LFA) in addition to usual ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) typical of magnetic materials. LFA was observed as a distinct signal in these films. This signal has been observed in several other materials other than FeSi thin films. However in FeSi thin films it was for the first time that LFA signal was observed. The LFA is closely connected to the magnetization process that occurs at low applied field. LFA is a new technique that has recently been used to detect the magnetic transition in materials, sensitive detection of magnetic order and more importantly to distinguish between different dynamics of microwave absorption centres. The LFA measurements were made at 9.4 GHz (X-band) on pulse laser deposited (PLD) polycrystalline B20 cubic structure FeSi thin film grown on Si (111) substrate. PLD is regarded as a powerful tool for thin film growth. The LFA properties of the films were investigated as a function of DC field, temperature, microwave power and orientation of DC field with respect to the film surface. The LFA signal is very strong when the DC field is parallel to the film surface and diminishes at higher angles. This is attributed to induced anisotropy field (IAF) and surface anisotropy field (SAF) contributing to total anisotropy field (TAF). The LFA signal strength increases as the microwave power is increased, such increase is due to impedance and thus showing that LFA and magnetoimpedance (MI) has common origin. The LFA signal disappears around 340 K which can be attributed to the disappearance of long range order giving us a positive signature of surviving magnetic state well above room temperature in these films. We believe that domain structure evolution in low-fields, which in turn modifies the low field permeability as well as the anisotropy, could be the origin of LFA observed in these films. MI and LFA can be understood as the absorption of electromagnetic radiation by spin systems that are modified by domain configuration and strongly depend on anisotropy field. The observation of LFA opens the possibility of FeSi films to be used as potential candidates of low magnetic field sensors in the microwave and radio frequency regions. Copyright / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Physics / unrestricted