Structure and magnetism in Ga-rich MnGa/GaN thin films and unexpected giant perpendicular anisotropy in the ultra-thin film limit

Mandru, Andrada-Oana; Corbett, Joseph P.; Lucy, Jeremy M.; Richard, Andrea L.; Yang, Fengyuan; Ingram, David C.; Smith, Arthur R.

doi:10.1016/j.apsusc.2016.01.105

Title: Structure and magnetism in Ga-rich MnGa/GaN thin films and unexpected giant perpendicular anisotropy in the ultra-thin film limit

Journal Article · Thu Jan 14 00:00:00 EST 2016 · Applied Surface Science

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2016.01.105· OSTI ID:1737518

^[1]; Corbett, Joseph P. ^[1]; Lucy, Jeremy M. ^[2]; Richard, Andrea L. ^[1]; Yang, Fengyuan ^[2];

^[1];

^[1]

Ohio Univ., Athens, OH (United States)
The Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH (United States)

Here, we report structural, surface, and magnetic investigations of ferromagnetic Ga-rich MnGa thin and ultra-thin films grown on semiconducting GaN(0001) using molecular beam epitaxy. The Mn:Ga composition ratio is varied from ≈1 (stoichiometric) to ≈0.42 (very Ga-rich) for different samples. We find that the L1₀ MnGa phase is preserved down to a Mn:Ga ratio of ≈0.81. As the Ga concentration increases, we observe the coexistence of more Ga-rich phases, namely Mn3Ga5 and Mn2Ga5. Room temperature scanning tunneling microscopy imaging reveals highly epitaxial films, with atomically smooth and highly reconstructed surfaces. Magnetic characterizations show how the magnetic properties evolve with changing composition and that giant perpendicular magnetic anisotropy is induced by reducing the size of our films.

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Research Organization:: Ohio Univ., Athens, OH (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)

Grant/Contract Number:: FG02-06ER46317; SC0001304

OSTI ID:: 1737518

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1325391

Report Number(s):: 83; TRN: US2205334

Journal Information:: Applied Surface Science, Vol. 367; ISSN 0169-4332

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 12 works

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Title: Structure and magnetism in Ga-rich MnGa/GaN thin films and unexpected giant perpendicular anisotropy in the ultra-thin film limit

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