Evidence of defect-induced ferromagnetism in ZnFe₂O₄ thin films

X-ray absorption near-edge and grazing incidence X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy are employed to investigate the electronic structure of ZnFe$_{2}$O$_{4}$ thin films. The spectroscopy techniques are used to determine the non-equilibrium cation site occupancy as a function of depth and oxygen pressure during deposition and its effects on the magnetic properties. It is found that low deposition pressures below 10$^{-3}$ mbar cause iron superoccupation of tetrahedral sites without Zn$^{2+}$ inversion, resulting in an ordered magnetic phase with high room temperature magnetic moment.