The growth of high-crystalline quality M n 2 Au (110) thin films

Abstract

Mn2Au is a bimetallic antiferromagnetic with an extraordinarily high Néel temperature of 1600 K. Mn2Au 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 Mn2Au (110) thin films. The films were grown on a high quality Pt (111) buffer layer, which was grown on an Al2O3 (0001) substrate. The Mn2Au films have excellent crystalline quality as demonstrated by x-ray diffraction, x-ray reflection, and reflection high energy electron diffraction measurements. The Mn2Au (110) films are found to grow with three equivalent in-plane rotation domains, caused by the Pt/Al2O3 substrate.