Structural, Magnetic and Transport Properties of Epitaxial Mn2PtPd films

Antiferromagnets (AFM) have recently emerged as potential candidates for future spintronic device applications due to their novel advantage over conventional ferromagnetic material. Interestingly, they produce no stray field, are insensitive to the external magnetic field perturbations and their spin dynamics is faster. In recent years, there have been extensive efforts to develop new AFM materials and to make them suitable for antiferromagnetic spintronics. Mn2PtPd has been predicted to crystallize in the form of a tetragonally distorted Heusler structure with I4/mmm (TiAl3-type) crystal symmetry. Furthermore, it is expected to have an antiferromagnetic ground state with very high Neel temperature. Depending on the ordering of the constituent elements in the crystal lattice and the relative concentration of Pt and Pd, this compound could potentially exhibit different long-range magnetic order, which makes the compound’s magnetic properties highly tunable. In this talk, I will report our efforts at first synthesis of epitaxial, single crystalline Mn2PtPd thin films using RF magnetron sputtering. We found that the Neel vector in these thin films is tunable as a function of film thickness, which promises interesting applications in spintronics devices. I will also describe our efforts at creating flexible membranes of Mn2PtPd using remote epitaxy. Finally, I will conclude with our ongoing efforts in these directions and describing future prospects.