Magnetic properties of Mn2N0.86 (111) thin film grown on MgO (001) substrate by molecular beam epitaxy

Abstract (111)-oriented Mn 2 N 0.86 thin films were fabricated on (001)-oriented MgO substrates by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. In-situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction and ex-situ X-ray diffraction results demonstrated that the (111)-oriented Mn 2 N 0.86 thin films were single phase. The rocking curve manifested a very good crystallinity of Mn 2 N 0.86 (111) phase and the thickness of the film was studied by X-ray reflectivity. The magnetic properties of the (111)-oriented Mn 2 N 0.86 thin films were investigated and room-temperature ferromagnetism that was absent in the bulk samples was observed. Strain imposed by the substrates was proposed to explain this phenomenon.