Properties of sputtered full Heusler alloy Cr2MnSb and its application in a magnetic tunnel junction

Abstract
We deposit 30-nm thick Cr2MnSb films on a MgO (001) substrate by magnetron sputtering. X-ray diffraction reveals that the annealing promotes the crystallization of Cr2MnSb from amorphous at as-deposited state to partially crystallized phase, and that the crystallinity improves by raising the annealing temperature. The crystallized phase exhibits full B2 and partial L21 ordering after the annealing above 300oC. The magnetic and magneto-transport properties reveal that the annealed Cr2MnSb shows magnetic ordering up to ~350 K with small magnetic moment, 0.3µB/formula unit for the sample annealed at 300oC. We adopt Cr2MnSb as one of the electrodes in magnetic tunnel junctions, and observe the switching of junction resistance, when the magnetization direction is reversed by sweeping an external magnetic field.
Funding Information
  • Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (26103002)
  • Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (19K05242)