Sublayer-Enhanced Growth of Highly Ordered Mn<sub>5</sub>Ge<sub>3</sub> Thin Film on Si(111)

oleh: Ivan Yakovlev, Ivan Tarasov, Anna Lukyanenko, Mikhail Rautskii, Leonid Solovyov, Alexander Sukhachev, Mikhail Volochaev, Dmitriy Efimov, Aleksandr Goikhman, Ilya Bondarev, Sergey Varnakov, Sergei Ovchinnikov, Nikita Volkov, Anton Tarasov

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2022-12-01

Deskripsi

Mn<sub>5</sub>Ge<sub>3</sub> epitaxial thin films previously grown mainly on Ge substrate have been synthesized on Si(111) using the co-deposition of Mn and Ge at a temperature of 390 °C. RMS roughness decreases by almost a factor of two in the transition from a completely polycrystalline to a highly ordered growth mode. This mode has been stabilized by changing the ratio of the Mn and Ge evaporation rate from the stoichiometric in the buffer layer. Highly ordered Mn<sub>5</sub>Ge<sub>3</sub> film has two azimuthal crystallite orientations, namely Mn<sub>5</sub>Ge<sub>3</sub> (001) [1-10] and Mn<sub>5</sub>Ge<sub>3</sub> (001) [010] matching Si(111)[-110]. Lattice parameters derived <i>a</i> (7.112(1) Å) and <i>c</i> (5.027(1) Å) are close to the bulk values. Considering all structural data, we proposed a double buffer layer model suggesting that all layers have identical crystal structure with P6₃/mcm symmetry similar to Mn<sub>5</sub>Ge<sub>3</sub>, but orientation and level of Si concentration are different, which eliminates 8% lattice mismatch between Si and Mn<sub>5</sub>Ge<sub>3</sub> film. Mn<sub>5</sub>Ge<sub>3</sub> film on Si(111) demonstrates no difference in magnetic properties compared to other reported films. T<sub>C</sub> is about 300 K, which implies no significant excess of Mn or Si doping. It means that the buffer layer not only serves as a platform for the growth of the relaxed Mn<sub>5</sub>Ge<sub>3</sub> film, but is also a good diffusion barrier.