Gradual phase transition from ferromagnetic tetragonal to antiferromagnetic cubic states in Mn Ga (1.80 ≤ x ≤ 3.03) thin films
Abstract The structural, magnetic, and electronic properties of MnxGa thin films are investigated as varying the Mn composition (1.80 ≤ x ≤ 3.03). The variation of x in MnxGa films dramatically changes the crystal structure as well as the magnetic properties. With increasing x, we observe the gradual phase transition from a ferromagnetic tetragonal state to an antiferromagnetic cubic state. The structural characterization reveals that the D022 tetragonal structure of Mn2Ga is slowly transformed to the L12 cubic structure of Mn3Ga. Two phases coexist around x = 2.4. The magnetization is systematically reduced as x increases, ending to an antiferromagnetic state of cubic Mn3Ga, and the electr…
Magnetic and structural phase transitions by annealing in tetragonal and cubic Mn3Ga thin films
Abstract Thermal Annealing is a simple and powerful tool to improve the crystallinity in general or promote the functionality for peculiar purposes, ultimately leading to metastable states with lower energy. We report the annealing effect focusing primarily on the structural and magnetic properties of two different Mn3Ga thin films. One is the D022 tetragonal ferrimagnetic phase Mn3Ga, and the other is the disordered-L12 cubic antiferromagnetic phase Mn3Ga. They were grown by RF/DC magnetron sputtering method on MgO substrate. After deposition, the thin films were annealed at various temperatures (200, 300, 400, 500, and 600 °C) and Ar pressures (10−3, 10−1, and 103 Torr). We find that the …
Fine tuning of the magnetic properties in Mn3-Co Ga Heusler films near the critical regime
Abstract Tunability of structural and magnetic properties of Mn3-xCoxGa films is presented by Co substitution, where critical behavior emerges 0.37 ≤ x ≤ 0.56 exhibiting a transition from tetragonal hard ferrimagnetic with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) to a cubic soft ferrimagnetic phase with in-plane magnetic anisotropy (IMA). In the critical regime, coexisting state of tetragonal and cubic phases possesses significantly low coercive field (HC = 1.9 kOe) with relatively low saturation magnetization (MS = 100~150 emu/cc) while maintaining the PMA. From first-principles calculations, moments of two Mn sites do not change upon Co substitution. However, moments of substituted Co almo…
Highly Reduced Saturation Magnetization in Epitaxially Grown Ferrimagnetic Heusler Thin Films
The key of spintronic devices using the spin-transfer torque phenomenon is the effective reduction of switching current density by lowering the damping constant and the saturation magnetization while retaining strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. To reduce the saturation magnetization, particular conditions such as specific substitutions or buffer layers are required. Herein, we demonstrate highly reduced saturation magnetization in tetragonal D022 Mn3–xGa thin films prepared by rf magnetron sputtering, where the epitaxial growth is examined on various substrates without any buffer layer. As the lattice mismatch between the sample and the substrate decreases from LaAlO3 and (LaAlO3)0.3…