Growth and characterization of epitaxial NiMnSb/ZnTe/NiMnSb magnetic multilayers

Abstract

The half-metal ferromagnet NiMnSb, with its high spin polarization, low magnetic damping and tunable magnetic anisotropy, is a promising material for applications in spin torque devices. We develop the epitaxial growth of NiMnSb/ZnTe/NiMnSb heterostructures, aiming towards the realization of an all-NiMnSb based magnetic tunneling junction (MTJ). Layers are grown in situ by Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) and Atomic Layer Epitaxy (ALE) methods. By tuning Mn content, the magnetic anisotropy of each of the two NiMnSb layers is adjusted in order to achieve mutually orthogonal uniaxial anisotropies. SQUID measurements of the magnetization along orthogonal crystal directions [110] and [11¯0] confirm that the two layers have mutually orthogonal anisotropy. High Resolution X-Ray Diffraction measurements and simulations confirm the nominal layer stack and demonstrate the high crystalline quality of the individual layers. Such layer stacks provide a potential basis for TMR-based spin-torque devices such as spin-torque oscillators.