The growth of high-crystalline quality Mn2Au (110) thin films

Abstract

[Formula: see text] is a bimetallic antiferromagnetic with an extraordinarily high Néel temperature of 1600 K. [Formula: see text] has also been found to demonstrate Néel-order spin–orbit torque, allowing for electrical switching of the antiferromagnetic Néel vector. This has led to much interest in this material for spintronic applications. Here, we detail the growth of high quality [Formula: see text] (110) thin films. The films were grown on a high quality Pt (111) buffer layer, which was grown on an [Formula: see text] (0001) substrate. The [Formula: see text] films have excellent crystalline quality as demonstrated by x-ray diffraction, x-ray reflection, and reflection high energy electron diffraction measurements. The [Formula: see text] (110) films are found to grow with three equivalent in-plane rotation domains, caused by the Pt/[Formula: see text] substrate.