Field-dependent anisotropic magnetoresistance and planar Hall effect in epitaxial magnetite thin films

A systematic study of the temperature and magnetic field dependence of the longitudinal and transverse resistivities of epitaxial thin films of magnetite (Fe3O4) is reported. The anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) and the planar Hall effect are sensitive to the in-plane orientation of current and magnetization with respect to crystal axes in a way consistent with the cubic symmetry of the system. We also show that the AMR exhibits a sign reversal as a function of temperature, and that it shows significant field dependence without saturation up to 9 T. Our results provide a unified description of the anisotropic magnetoresistance effects in epitaxial magnetite films and illustrate the need for a full determination of the resistivity tensor in crystalline systems.