Making ferromagnetic metal MnSi ultrathin films semiconductor

Atomically flat MnSi films were fabricated on Si(111)-7 × 7 reconstructed surface by molecular beam epitaxy(MBE). Both scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) images and low energy electron diffraction (LEED) patterns demonstrate a well-defined (3×3)R30o structure reconstruction. A thickness-driven meta...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of magnetism and magnetic materials 2021-11, Vol.538, p.168252, Article 168252
Main Authors: Wang, De-Yong, Yang, Xu, He, Wei, Zhan, Qing-Feng, Du, Hai-Feng, Liu, Hao-Liang, Zhang, Xiang-Qun, Cheng, Zhao-Hua
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Conductivity
Diffraction patterns
Electrons
Ferromagnetic materials
Image reconstruction
Low energy electron diffraction
Magnetic fields
Manganese silicide
Metal-semiconductor Transition
Molecular beam epitaxy
Scanning tunneling microscopy
Spintronics
Temperature dependence
Thickness
Thin films
Weak anti-localization
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Atomically flat MnSi films were fabricated on Si(111)-7 × 7 reconstructed surface by molecular beam epitaxy(MBE). Both scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) images and low energy electron diffraction (LEED) patterns demonstrate a well-defined (3×3)R30o structure reconstruction. A thickness-driven metal–semiconductor transition in MnSi ultrathin films was observed with decreasing the thickness down to 6 ML (monolayers). The temperature dependence of the resistance and the negative magnetoconductivity suggest the MnSi ultrathin films with thickness lower than 6ML exhibit weak anti-localization (WAL) of two-dimensional (2D) electron systems. This finding that not only advances our understanding of the mechanism of thickness-driven metal–semiconductor transition, but also provides a new strategy to use ferromagnetic semiconductor as spin injector in spintronic devices.
ISSN:0304-8853
1873-4766
DOI:10.1016/j.jmmm.2021.168252