Effect of Mn substitution on the transport properties of co-sputtered Fe3-xMnxSi epilayers.

Motivated by the theoretical calculations that Fe3-xMnxSi can simultaneously exhibit a high spin polarization with a high Curie temperature to be applied in spintronic devices, and in order to further study the effect of Mn contents on the physical properties of Fe3-xMnxSi, we have investigated the effect of Mn substitution on the transport properties of epitaxial Fe3-xMnxSi (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) films systematically. The Fe3-xMnxSi films were epitaxially grown on MgO(001) plane with 45° rotation. The magnetization for various x shows enhanced irreversibility, implying the antiferromagnetic ordering induced by the substitution of Mn. A metal-semiconductor crossover was observed due to the enhanced disorders of interactions and the local lowering of symmetry induced by the substitution of Mn. The single-domain state in the Fe3-xMnxSi films leads to twofold symmetric curves of the anisotropic magnetoresistance and planar Hall resistivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]