Structure and magnetization of MnSb thin films deposited at different substrate temperatures

The influence of substrate temperatures on the structure, morphology, magne tic properties, and surface composition of MnSb films prepared by hot-wall epitaxy are analyzed. All the films are found to be single phase with nicke l arsenide (NiAs) crystal structure. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy study on the core levels reveals that the surface oxidation of the films is not very much enhanced with increasing substrate temperature except for a varia tion in the concentration of Sb2O3 and MnO2 near the surface-air interface. The decrease in saturation magnetization for the films is attributed to an increase in the manganese oxide content as substrate temperature increases . It is also observed that preferential Mn segregation from the grains to t he grain boundaries will reduce the magnetic coupling between grains and th us increase coercivity and decrease coercivity squareness. (C) 1999 America n Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(99)09209-9].