APL Materials (Sep 2017)

Heteroepitaxial growth of tetragonal Mn2.7−xFexGa1.3 (0 ≤ x ≤ 1.2) Heusler films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy

  • Adel Kalache,
  • Anastasios Markou,
  • Susanne Selle,
  • Thomas Höche,
  • Roshnee Sahoo,
  • Gerhard H. Fecher,
  • Claudia Felser

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4991468
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 5, no. 9
pp. 096102 – 096102-9

Abstract

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This work reports on the structural and magnetic properties of Mn2.7−xFexGa1.3 Heusler films with different Fe content x (0 ≤ x ≤ 1.2). The films were deposited heteroepitaxially on MgO single crystal substrates, by magnetron sputtering. Mn2.7−xFexGa1.3 films with the thickness of 35 nm were crystallized in a tetragonal D022 structure with (001) preferred orientation. Tunable magnetic properties were achieved by changing the Fe content x. Mn2.7−xFexGa1.3 thin films exhibit high uniaxial anisotropy Ku ≥ 1.4 MJ/m3, coercivity from 0.95 to 0.31 T, and saturation magnetization from 290 to 570 kA/m. The film with Mn1.6Fe1.1Ga1.3 composition shows high Ku of 1.47 MJ/m3 and energy product (BH)max of 37 kJ/m3 at room temperature. These findings demonstrate that Mn2.7−xFexGa1.3 films have promising properties for mid-range permanent magnet and spintronic applications.