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Title: Forward scattering in hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy: Structural investigation of buried Mn–Ga films

Journal Article · · Applied Physics Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4907537· OSTI ID:22420254
;  [1]; ; ;  [2];  [3]
  1. Max-Planck-Institut für Chemische Physik fester Stoffe, 01187 Dresden (Germany)
  2. WPI Advanced Institute for Materials Research Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577 (Japan)
  3. Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, SPring-8, Sayo, Hyogo 679-5198 (Japan)

X-ray photoelectron diffraction (XPD) in combination with hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES) has been used to study the structure of buried layers in thin multilayer films. A detailed layer-by-layer investigation was performed using the element-specific, local-probe character of XPD. In the present work, angular-resolved HAXPES at a photon energy of 7.94 keV photon energy was used to investigate a Cr/Mn{sub 62}Ga{sub 38}/Mg/MgO multilayer system. Differences in the angular distributions of electrons emitted from Mn and Ga atoms revealed that the structure of Mn{sub 62}Ga{sub 38} changes from L1{sub 0} towards D0{sub 22} for increasing annealing temperatures. A c/a ratio of 1.81 ± 0.06 was determined for the buried Mn{sub 62}Ga{sub 38} layer in a D0{sub 22} structure from the XPD experiment. The improvement of the structural order of the Mn{sub 62}Ga{sub 38} layer is accompanied by an improvement of the structure of the overlying MgO layer.

OSTI ID:
22420254
Journal Information:
Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 106, Issue 5; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English