Synthesis and Physical Properties of Manganese Chromium Nitride Thin Films Grown via Molecular Beam Epitaxy
We demonstrate the ability to grow epitaxial thin films of manganese–chromium nitride (MnxCr1–xN) across the entire composition range on magnesium oxide (MgO) (1 0 0) surfaces by molecular beam epitaxy. By independently controlling the ratio of the atomic fluxes of manganese and chromium, the compositional dependence of structural and electrical transport properties is determined. Soft X-ray absorption shows that the valence states of Cr(3+) and Mn(3+) remain identical among these MnCrN epitaxial films. The metallic transport behavior of binary manganese nitride (MnN) and chromium nitride (CrN) is suppressed in the ternary alloys. Changes in room temperature electrical resistivity of up to 100 times and 5 orders of magnitude at cryogenic temperatures are observed. This work expands the variety of nitride compounds available for epitaxial integration and could provide additional flexibility for the development of metal–semiconductor–insulator junctions for spintronic devices.
Authors
- Tehseen Adel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9869-0123)
- Kevin D. Vallejo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9456-6288)
- Kaustubh Bawane (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2291-4466)
- S. M. Durbin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3021-3122)
- Jun‐Sik Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0181-9352)
- Cheng‐Tai Kuo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7721-6481)
- Boopathy Kombaiah (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5706-2534)
- Maria F. Munoz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1525-2318)
- A. S. Messecar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1515-6206)
- Krzysztof Gofryk (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8681-6857)
- Zach Cresswell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7624-2271)
- Robert Makin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2983-0628)
- Brelon J. May (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3731-7592)
- Volodymyr Buturlim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8851-2489)
- Angela R. Hight Walker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1385-0672)
Institutions
- University of Findlay (US)
- University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (US)
- National Institute of Standards and Technology (US)
- Western Michigan University (US)
- Idaho National Laboratory (US)
- University of Minnesota System (US)
- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (US)
- Quantum (Australia) (AU)
- Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- The Journal of Physical Chemistry C
- Published
- 2025-02-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.4c08738
- Primary Topic
- Metal and Thin Film Mechanics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Institute of Standards and Technology
- National Nuclear Security Administration