Ferromagnetism and Nonmetallic Transport of Thin-Filmα−FeSi2: A Stabilized Metastable Material

The epitaxially stabilized metallic α-FeSi2 thin films on Si(001) were grown using pulsed laser deposition. While the bulk material of α-FeSi2 is a high temperature metastable phase and nonmagnetic, the thin film is stabilized at room temperature and shows unusual electronic transport and magnetic properties due to strain modification. The transport renders two different conducting states with a strong crossover at 50 K accompanied by an onset of ferromagnetism as well as a substantial magnetocaloric effect and magnetoresistance. These experimental results are discussed in terms of the unusual electronic structure of α-FeSi2 obtained within density functional calculations and Boltzmann transport calculations with and without strain. Our findings provide an example of a tailored material with interesting physics properties for practical applications.