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We investigated the crystal structure and magnetic properties of Manganese-germanium (Mn3Ge) films having the tetragonal D022 structure, with varied thicknesses (5-130 nm) prepared on chromium (Cr)-buffered single crystal MgO(001) substrates. A crystal lattice elongation in the in-plane direction, induced by the lattice mismatch between the D022-Mn3Ge and the Cr buffer layer, increased with decreasing thickness of the D022-Mn3Ge layer. The films exhibited clear magnetic hysteresis loops with a squareness ratio close to unity, and a step-like magnetization reversal even at a 5-nm thickness under an external field perpendicular to the film's plane. The uniaxial magnetic anisotropy constant of the films showed a reduction to less than 10 Merg/cm³ in the small thickness range (⩽20 nm), likely due to the crystal lattice elongation in the in-plane direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we report a tailorable exchange coupling (Jex) at the Mn62Ga38/Co2FeAl interface, where Mn62Ga38 and Co2FeAl alloys are tetragonal Heusler alloy with high perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and typical cubic Heusler alloy with soft magnetism, respectively. As the post annealing temperature (Ta) is lower than 375 °C, the Jex is ferromagnetic with strength controllable from 7.5 to 0.5 erg/cm2. Interestingly, as Ta increases higher than 400 °C, an antiferromagnetic Jex of -5.5 erg/cm2 is observed. The ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic transition is further evidenced by the spin dependent transport property of the magnetic tunnel junctions with Mn62Ga38/Co2FeAl as electrode. Based on structure characterization, the variation of Jex during annealing is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mn3Ga Heusler compound and related alloys are the most promising materials for the realization of spin-transfer-torque magnetoresistive memories. Mn-Ga films exhibits perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and high spin polarization and can be used to improve the performance of MgO-based magneto tunneling junctions. The interface between Mn-Ga and MgO films were chemically characterized by hard x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The experiment indicated the formation of Ga-O bonds at the interface and evidenced changes in the local environment of Mn atoms in the proximity of the MgO film. We show that the deposition of few monoatomic layers of Mg on top of Mn-Ga film, before the MgO deposition, strongly suppresses the oxidation of gallium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pursuit of high saturation magnetization is an important area of hard magnetic materials research. However, spintronics requires hard magnets exhibiting small saturation magnetization and low spin relaxation. Mn-based alloys that are composed of Mn and light group III and/or group IV elements exhibit such properties and may belong to a new category of magnetic materials. In this article, we review the magnetic properties of Mn-based hard magnet films. In particular, we focus on low spin relaxation as a new viewpoint for hard magnets, and we discuss the origin of their extraordinary magnetism in terms of their unique electronic structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laser-induced magnetization precessional dynamics was investigated in epitaxialfilms of Mn3Ge, which is a tetragonal Heusler-like nearly compensated ferrimagnet. The ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) mode was observed, the precession frequency for which exceeded 0.5 THz and originated from the large magnetic anisotropy field of approximately 200 kOe for this ferrimagnet. The effective damping constant was approximately 0.03. The corresponding effective Landau-Lifshitz constant is approximately 60 Mrad/s and is comparable with those of the similar Mn-Ga materials. The physical mechanisms for the Gilbert damping and for the laser-induced excitation of the FMR mode were also discussed in terms of the spin-orbit-induced damping and the laser-induced ultrafast modulation of the magnetic anisotropy, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We prepared D022-Mn3+xGe (-0.67≤x≤0.35) epitaxial thin films on MgO(001) substrates with Cr(001) buffer layers and systematically investigated the dependence of their perpendicular magnetic anisotropy constant, saturation magnetization, coercivity, and tetragonal axial ratio (c/a) on their composition and substrate temperature. Single-phase D022 crystal structures were formed in films with compositions of 0≤x≤0.35, prepared at 400 ℃. The D022-Mn3Ge films exhibited perpendicular magnetization with a magnetic squareness close to unity. Performing magnetic torque measurements at an applied field of 140 kOe, we estimated a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy constant of 11.8±0.5 Merg/cm³, the highest and the most reliable value yet reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To extend density limits in magnetic recording industry, two separate strategies were developed to build the storage bit in last decade, introduction of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) and adoption of ferrimagnetism/antiferromagnetism. Meanwhile, these properties significantly improve device performance, such as reducing spin-transfer torque energy consumption and decreasing signal-amplitude-loss. However, materials combining PMA and antiferromagnetism rather than transition-metal/rare-earth system were rarely developed. Here, we develop a new type of ferrimagnetic superlattice exhibiting PMA based on abundant Heusler alloy families. The superlattice is formed by [MnGa/Co2FeAl] unit with their magnetizations antiparallel aligned. The effective anisotropy (Kueff) over 6 Merg/cm3 is obtained, and the SL can be easily built on various substrates with flexible lattice constants. The coercive force, saturation magnetization and Kueff of SLs are highly controllable by varying the thickness of MnGa and Co2FeAl layers. The SLs will supply a new choice for magnetic recording and spintronics memory application such as magnetic random access memory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]