Structural and magnetic properties of Mn3Ge films with Pt and Ru seed layers.

The Mn-Ge binary system has been intensively studied because of a variety of phases with intriguing magnetic properties. Here, we report the thin film fabrication of two types of Mn3Ge by employing Pt and Ru seed layers. Our structural analysis, in addition to magnetic and transport measurements, have revealed that the Mn3Ge film with the Pt layer has γ-Mn type cubic structure. This is in contrast to the Mn3Ge film with Ru seed layer, which posseses D022 tetragonal structure. Pt/Mn3Ge also exhibits antiferromagnetic properties, including the exchange bias effect with the blocking temperature of TB ∼ 350 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]