Magnetostrictive iron gallium thin films grown onto antiferromagnetic manganese nitride: Structure and magnetism

摘要

We report structural and magnetic properties of magnetostrictive Fe_(100-x)Ga_x (x ≈ 15) alloys when deposited onto antiferromagnetic manganese nitride and non-magnetic magnesium oxide substrates. From X-ray diffraction measurements, we find that the FeGa films are single crystalline. Scanning tunneling microscopy imaging reveals that the surface morphologies are dictated by the growth temperature, composition, and substrate. The magnetic properties can be tailored by the substrate, as found by magnetic force microscopy imaging and vibrating sample magnetometry measurements. In addition to pronounced tetragonal deformations, depositing FeGa onto manganese nitride leads to the formation of stripe-like magnetic domain patterns and to the appearance of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy.