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Magnetic properties of two-phase granular semiconductor–ferromagnet GaSb–MnSb films obtained by pulsed laser deposition as a function of growth temperature and postgrowth annealing were stu-died.

We observed a temperature-controlled increase in the magnetic anisotropy and its dispersion in thin GaMnSb films with MnSb nanoinclusions obtained by pulsed laser deposition. The data of transmission electron microscopy indicate that in the samples, a transition of the crystalline structure of magnetic MnSb nanoinclusions from hexagonal (spatial group (sp. gr.) P63/mmc) to cubic (sp. gr. F-43m) takes place. Analysis of the temperature dependences of the magnetic moment m(T), measured using a SQUID magnetometer, obtained for both unannealed and annealed samples cooled in a zero magnetic field and a magnetic field of 10 kOe, indicates that this mechanism is not unique. In unannealed samples, the distribution of the magnetic anisotropy of MnSb nanoinclusions, determined from the dependences of m(T), is unimodal. In the annealed samples, the same dependence becomes multimodal. This means that several thermally activated processes occur in the samples during annealing, resulting in several “populations” of nanoinclusions present in the annealed thin films. The contribution to the increase in the magnetic anisotropy during annealing can result in the structural phase transition, the mismatch of the crystal lattices between MnSb and GaSb, an increase in the average volume of MnSb nanoinclusions, and a change in their stoichiometry.

The temperature behavior of the coercive field Hc(T) and the magnetic anisotropy in (CoFeB)x(LiNbOy)100 –x nanocomposite films with a ferromagnetic alloy content x = 33–48 at % near the metal–insulator transition (xc ≈ 42 at %) have been studied by the magnetometry and ferromagnetic resonance methods. The films were ensembles of CoFe granules with lateral sizes of 2–4 nm, which are highly elongated (up to 10–15 nm) in the nanocomposite growth direction and embedded in a LiNbOy matrix with a high content of magnetic Fe2+ and Co2+ ions (up to 3 × 1022 cm–3). A nonmonotonic behavior of Hc(T), viz., a sharp minimum at a temperature TF ≈ 50 K close to the blocking temperature ( $$T_{b}^{*}$$ ≈ 70 K) of the granule magnetic moment, has been detected in samples with x < 42 at %. The effective field of the perpendicular growth anisotropy (0.4–0.8 kOe) turns out to be an order of magnitude lower than the field of the granule shape anisotropy (about 7 kOe) and increases with x. The revealed peculiarities are explained by the fact that, apart from the ferromagnetic intergranular exchange interaction in an infinite cluster, the surface anisotropy effects involving magnetic ions in a thin layer adjacent to the cluster and responsible for the surface interaction fluctuations play a big role in the investigated percolation nanocomposites, enhancing the nanocomposite demagnetization at T ≈ TF ~ $$T_{b}^{*}$$ .

—The effect of laser pulse energy E on the possibility of forming of a homogeneous “high-temperature” ferromagnetic phase in MnxSi1 – x (x ≈ 0.5) alloy films grown by pulsed laser deposition onto an Al2O3 (0001) substrate has been studied. The high-temperature phase with manganese concentration x ≈ 0.53 and the Curie temperature TC ~ 200–300 K is shown to form near the substrate at the initial stage of the film growth. In this case, high values E ≥ 6.8 J/cm2 favor the stabilization of this phase over all film thickness, while low values E = 2.6–5.7 J/cm2 lead to a decrease in the manganese concentration in the upper film layer and the formation of additional “low–temperature” phase with TC ≈ 30–50 K provided by silicides MnSi and Mn4Si7 crystallites.

Conditions and mechanisms of controlled variation of the magnetic anisotropy of GaMnSb films containing magnetic MnSb nanoinclusions by means of heat treatment have been determined. For this purpose, the temperature and magnetic-field dependences of the magnetic moments of samples before and after thermal annealing were measured using a SQUID magnetometer. It is established that the heat treatment of GaMnSb films leads to a significant increase in the values of characteristics determined by the magnetic anisotropy, including the growth of blocking temperature (from 95 to 390 K) and the magnetic anisotropy field (from 330 to 630 Oe). Results of transmission electron microscopy investigation indicate that a change in the magnetic anisotropy of GaMnSb films as a result of their thermal annealing can be related to a transition of the crystalline structure of magnetic MnSb nanoinclusions from hexagonal (space group P62/mmc) to cubic (space group F-43m).

Comparative examination of magnetotransport properties of nonstoichiometric Si1–xMnx alloys with roughly the same (δх/x ≈ 7%) excess of Mn relative to silicides Mn4Si7 and MnSi has been performed. Films of Si1–xMnx (х ≈ 0.39 and 0.535) with a thickness of 60–70 nm have been fabricated by means of pulsed laser deposition on Al2O3 (0001) substrates at a temperature of 340°С. It has been found that the excess of Mn produces the strongest effect on the Curie temperature in the case of MnSi (ТС increases from 30 K to 300 K and higher), while no such effect is observed in Mn4Si7. This may be attributed to strong nonmagnetic disorder in Si1–xMnx with x ≈ 0.39 and the associated unusual behavior of negative magnetoresistance (NMR): The NMR varies linearly with magnetic field at В ≤ 1.3 T and exhibits almost no temperature dependence at T = 40–85 K.

The structural, transport, and magnetic characteristics of polycrystalline Mn x Si1–x (x ≈ 0.51–0.52) films grown by pulsed laser deposition onto Al2O3(0001) substrates when the low-energy components are deposited owing to collisions with the atoms of the buffer gas have been studied in the “shadow” geometry. The magnetization of these films is determined by two ferromagnetic phases—the high-temperature phase with the Curie temperature T C ≈ 370 K and the low-temperature one with T C ≈ 46 K. The anomalous Hall effect changes sign from positive to negative with a decrease in temperature. The sign change occurs in the temperature range of 30–50 K; the specific value of this temperature depends on the thickness of the Mn x Si1–x film. The results can be interpreted in terms of the structural self-organization related to the formation of two layers in the course of film growth. These layers have nearly the same chemical composition but significantly differ in the shapes and sizes of crystallites. This leads to a drastic difference in the values of T C and in the value and the sign of the anomalous Hall effect for such layers.

The influence of the charge carrier concentration on the magnetic properties of GaSb-MnSb alloys is studied. The ferromagnetism of GaSb-MnSb films is caused by the presence of MnSb granules and manifests itself in both magnetometric measurements and the presence of an anisotropic magnetoresistance and the anomalous Hall effect. Electric conduction is executed by charge carriers (holes) in a GaSb matrix. The magnetization of clusters depends on stoichiometry and the concentration of Mn2+ and Mn3+ ions, which is specified by the film growth conditions. At high film growth temperatures, ferromagnetic clusters containing Mn2+ ions mainly form. At low growth temperatures, an antiferromagnetic phase containing Mn3+ ions forms.

It has been found that the Curie temperature (T C ≈ 300 K) in nonstoichiometric Si1 − x Mn x alloys slightly enriched in Mn (x ≈ 0.52–0.55) in comparison to the stoichiometric manganese monosilicide MnSi becomes about an order of magnitude higher than that in MnSi (T C ∼ 30 K). Deviations from stoichiometry lead to a drastic decrease in the density of charge carries (holes), whereas their mobility at about 100 K becomes an order of magnitude higher than the value characteristic of MnSi. The high-temperature ferromagnetism is ascribed to the formation of defects with the localized magnetic moments and by their indirect exchange interaction mediated by the paramagnetic fluctuations of the hole spin density. The existence of defects with the localized magnetic moments in Si1 − x Mn x alloys with x ≈ 0.52–0.55 is supported by the results of numerical calculations performed within the framework of the local-density-functional approximation. The increase in the hole mobility in the nonstoichiometric material is attributed to the decay of the Kondo (or spin-polaron) resonances presumably existing in MnSi.