Ternary Mn3NMn1-xAgx compound films of nearly constant electrical resistivity and their magnetic transport behaviour

摘要

Antiperovskite Mn3NMn1-xAgx thin films were successfully prepared by reactive magnetron sputtering. The increasing substitution of Ag atoms at the Mn-A-sites of cubic Mn3NMn lattice leads to the metal-to-semiconductor transition, through which a vanishingly small temperature coefficient of resistivity down to 20 ppm K-1 over a temperature range of 50 to 200 K was achieved. Meanwhile, with increasing content of Ag atoms the magnetic behaviour of the deposits also changes that the ferromagnetism gradually diminishes and the freezing temperature steadily downshifts. The simultaneously tunable magnetic property and the nature of electric conductivity may inspire some innovative applications of the manganese nitride-based antiperovskite thin films.