https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/s10051-021-00103-0
Regular Article - Solid State and Materials
Magnetic and transport properties of Ni–Mn–In Heusler alloy films: the effect of structural disorder
1
G. V. Kurdyumov Institute for Metal Physics, N.A.S. of Ukraine, 36 Academician Vernadsky Boulevard, 03142, Kyiv, Ukraine
2
Institute for Sorption and Problems of Endoecology, N.A.S. of Ukraine, 13 Generala Naumova Str., 03164, Kyiv, Ukraine
3
Faculty of Physics, A. Mickewicz University, 61-614, Poznan, Poland
4
Institute of Molecular Physics, PAS, Smoluchowskiego 17, 60-179, Poznan, Poland
5
Institute of Magnetism, N.A.S. and M.E.S. of Ukraine, 36b Academician Vernadsky Boulevard, 03142, Kyiv, Ukraine
Received:
5
February
2021
Accepted:
16
April
2021
Published online:
29
April
2021
We report the structural disorder effect on magnetic and electric transport properties of Heusler alloy (HA) films. Two sets of samples were investigated: disordered (partially amorphous) and ordered (crystalline with
structure) samples. Electric transport measurements vs. temperature shows that the process of structural ordering is accomplished with a two-stage drop in resistivity at 570 and 630 K which are ascribed to crystallization and
-type structural ordering, respectively. Ordered films show a metallic and magnetization behavior typical for
HA. By contrast, disordered films show ten times lower saturation magnetization with comparable effective magnetization determined from ferromagnetic resonance. We explain this difference as the unusual effect of the inhomogeneous microstructure of the disordered films consisting of Ni clusters embedded in a nonmagnetic matrix.
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to EDP Sciences, SIF and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2021