Room-temperature preparation and magnetic behavior of Co2MnSi thin films

Our study presents experimental results on Co2MnSi thin-film preparation and resulting magnetic properties of the Co2MnSi Heusler alloy. The focus of our work is on the important role of the microstructure and the magnetic properties relationships of Co2MnSi thin films prepared using dc magnetron sputtering. We examined the microstructure evolution determined with x-ray diffraction for various substrates, e.g., MgO, SrTiO3, Si and SiO2, at different substrate temperatures. Polycrystalline growth observed at high substrate temperatures is independent of the nature and orientation of the substrate. These films show soft magnetic behavior at a net magnetization of 4.12mu(B). In contrast, textured growth is obtained at room temperature by introducing a vanadium seed layer. These samples are magnetically harder but possess a magnetization of 0.25mu(B) only. This behavior indicates a two phase film consisting of an amorphous and textured volume. Consequently, sputtering at low argon pressure at high temperature result in very smooth Co2MnSi Heusler films, enabling the Co2MnSi Heusler alloys to serve as electrodes in tunnel magnetoresistance structures. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.