Tetragonal MnxGa1-x (x=0.70, 0.75) thin films exhibit perpendicular magnetic anisotropy with coercive fields between 1-2 T. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) reveal that 40nm samples grown at 300-350oC lead to films with the tetragonal c-axis oriented primarily perpendicular to the film plane but with some fraction of the sample exhibiting the c-axis in the film plane. Growth at 300 °C with a reduced thickness or Mn concentration significantly decreases the tetragonal c-axis in the film plane. A MnxGa1-x (x=0.70) epitaxial thin film with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and a large coercivity was patterned into nanodots using a self-assembly nanolithography procedure. The resulting nanodots retain the properties of the original film. Our results suggest this lithography procedure could be a promising direction for preparing spin valve devices
MnxGa1-x Thin Films and Nanodots with High Coercivity and Perpendicular Magnetic Anisotropy
F Casoli;L Nasi;S Fabbrici;P Tiberto;F Albertini;
2016
Abstract
Tetragonal MnxGa1-x (x=0.70, 0.75) thin films exhibit perpendicular magnetic anisotropy with coercive fields between 1-2 T. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) reveal that 40nm samples grown at 300-350oC lead to films with the tetragonal c-axis oriented primarily perpendicular to the film plane but with some fraction of the sample exhibiting the c-axis in the film plane. Growth at 300 °C with a reduced thickness or Mn concentration significantly decreases the tetragonal c-axis in the film plane. A MnxGa1-x (x=0.70) epitaxial thin film with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and a large coercivity was patterned into nanodots using a self-assembly nanolithography procedure. The resulting nanodots retain the properties of the original film. Our results suggest this lithography procedure could be a promising direction for preparing spin valve devicesI documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
