Study on electronic transport and magnetic properties for antiperovskite Mn3CuNx thin films fabricated with different N2 flow rates

Abstract

The antiperovskite Mn3CuNx thin films are successfully deposited on single crystal Si (100) substrates using facing target magnetron sputtering. The effects of nitrogen content on the structures and physical properties of the Mn3CuNx thin films are investigated. The crystal structure, composition, surface morphology and the temperature dependence of resistivity and magnetization are characterized by X-ray diffraction, Auger electron spectroscopy, atomic force microscope, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, physical property measurement systems and superconducting quantum interference device. It is found that the thin film has an antiperovskite structure and a preferred orientation along (200) plane. The surface roughness and particle size increase with N content increasing. N content has little influence on the electronic transport behavior of the film. All the films display semiconductor-like behaviors, i.e. their resistivities monotonically decrease considerably, which is different from the bulk counterpart. The film undergoes a magnetic transition from ferrimagnetic to paramagnetic with the increase of temperature. Moreover, the Curie temperature (TC) increases as the N content decreases, owing to the effect of N deficiency on the interaction of Mn6N octahedron.