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Magnetotransport and magnetic properties of amorphous [Formula: see text] thin films.

Published version
Peer-reviewed

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Authors

Cirillo, Carla 
Barone, Carlo 
Bradshaw, Harry 
Urban, Francesca 
Di Bernardo, Angelo  ORCID logo  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2912-2023

Abstract

[Formula: see text] is an intermetallic compound with a bulk Curie temperature ([Formula: see text]) of 6-13 K. While existing studies have focused on [Formula: see text] crystals, amorphous thin-films of [Formula: see text] are potentially important since they would be magnetically soft without magnetocrystalline anisotropy, meaning that small external magnetic fields could reverse the direction of their magnetization. Here, we report [Formula: see text] thin-films with a thickness in the 5-200 nm range, deposited by DC magnetron sputtering onto Si(100). Films are amorphous with a weak temperature-dependent resistivity with values ranging between 150 and 300 [Formula: see text] cm. By means of noise spectroscopy, by analyzing the time-dependence of fluctuation-induced voltages, it is found that at low temperatures the resistance fluctuations are due to the Kondo effect. Volume magnetometry indicates [Formula: see text] K with a magnetic coercive field of 30 mT at 5 K for a 125-nm-thick film. The results are promising for the development of Ferromagnet(F)/Superconductor(S)/Ferromagnet(F) pseudo spin-valve devices based on amorphous [Formula: see text] thin films.

Description

Keywords

51 Physical Sciences, 5104 Condensed Matter Physics

Journal Title

Sci Rep

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

2045-2322
2045-2322

Volume Title

10

Publisher

Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Sponsorship
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/N017242/1)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/P026311/1)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/P024947/1)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/S019367/1)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/R00661X/1)