Transport properties of electrodeposited epitaxial Ni(111) films on GaAs(110) with low defect density

Abstract Epitaxial Ni thin films were prepared on GaAs(110) substrates using electrodeposition. Resistivity and Hall effect measurements were performed as a function of film thickness. The bulk resistivity value at room temperature is close to the literature value for Ni whereas the low temperature bulk resistivity value is of the order of 0.1 μΩcm, indicating a very low intra-layer defect density due to the high quality of the epitaxial growth. The anomalous Hall coefficient varies with the film resistivity as ρ 1.3 and thus strongly depends on the film thickness. Such films with very low defect density might serve as model systems for the study of electromigration effects.