Depth sensitive X-ray diffraction as a probe of buried half-metallic inclusions

摘要

The ferromagnetic material MnSb can exist in two polymorphs in epitaxial thin-film form, namely niccolite n-MnSb and cubic c-MnSb. We investigate the behavior of these polymorphs using grazing incidence depth-dependent in-plane X-ray diffraction. The in-plane lattice parameter evolution of a nominal 3000 Å thin film reveals a small near-surface compression of math formula0.1% in the majority n-MnSb component. A similar effect is also observed for the cubic polymorph, suggesting that the local strain environment of these crystallites is dominated by the n-MnSb matrix.