Modification of the Ferromagnetic Properties of Si{sub 1–x}Mn{sub x} Thin Films Synthesized by Pulsed Laser Deposition with a Variation in the Buffer-Gas Pressure

• Published in: Semiconductors (Woodbury, N.Y.) Vol. 52; no. 11
• Main Authors: Novodvorsky, O. A., Mikhalevsky, V. A., Gusev, D. S., Lotin, A. A., Parshina, L. S., Khramova, O. D., Cherebylo, E. A., Drovosekov, A. B., Rylkov, V. V., Nikolaev, S. N., Chernoglazov, K. Yu, Maslakov, K. I.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 15-11-2018
• Subjects: ALLOYS; ALUMINIUM OXIDES; ARGON; CURIE POINT; ENERGY BEAM DEPOSITION; ENERGY DENSITY; IONS; LANGMUIR PROBE; LASER RADIATION; MATERIALS SCIENCE; NEODYMIUM LASERS; PULSED IRRADIATION; THIN FILMS; TIME-OF-FLIGHT METHOD
• ISSN: 1063-7826; 1090-6479
• DOI: 10.1134/S1063782618110179

A series of thin films of Si{sub 1–x}Mn{sub x} alloys with a thickness from 50 to 100 nm grown by pulsed laser deposition on an Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} substrate in vacuum and in an argon atmosphere is investigated. The significant effect of the buffer-gas pressure in the sputtering chamber on the structural and magnetic homogeneity of the obtained films is shown. The conditions for the formation of a ferromagnetic phase with a high Curie temperature (>300 K) in the samples are studied. With the use of the Langmuir probe method, the threshold of ablation of a MnSi target by second harmonic radiation (λ = 532 nm) of a Nd:YAG Q-switch laser is determined. The time-of-flight curves for the plume ions are obtained with a change in the energy density at the target and argon pressure in the sputtering chamber. A nonmonotonic dependence of the probe time-of-flight signal amplitude on the argon pressure is established for high-energy particles of the plume.