AVS 49th International Symposium
    Thin Films Tuesday Sessions
       Session TF-TuP

Paper TF-TuP3
Structural Dependence of Magneto-optical and Optical Properties of Mn-Fe Alloys Films

Tuesday, November 5, 2002, 5:30 pm, Room Exhibit Hall B2

Session: Poster Session
Presenter: J.B. Kim, Hanyang University, Korea
Authors: J.B. Kim, Hanyang University, Korea
Y.V. Kudryavtsev, Institute of Metal Physics, Ukraine
R. Gontarz, Hanyang University, Korea
J.Y. Rhee, Hoseo University, Korea
Y.P. Lee, Hanyang University, Korea
Correspondent: Click to Email
The structural dependence of the magneto-optical [equatorial Kerr effect (EKE)] and optical [optical conductivity (OC)] properties of the Mn@sub 1-x@Fe@sub x@ alloy films have been investigated. Mn@sub 1-x@Fe@sub x@ (0 < x < 1) alloy films were prepared by face-to-face DC sputtering onto glass substrates kept at 293 K. The x-ray diffraction study shows a bcc structure for the Mn@sub 1-x@Fe@sub x@ alloy films with x > 0.9, a mixture of the fcc (@gamma@-phase) and bcc (@alpha@-Fe phase) structure for 0.65 < x < 0.8, and a fcc-like structure (@gamma@-phase and @alpha@-Mn) for x < 0.65. It was shown that the EKE signal at 293 K for the Mn@sub 1-x@Fe@sub x@ alloy films can be observed only for x > 0.50. All the EKE spectra have nearly the same spectral shape (Fe-like) and differ from each other only in the intensity. The observed experimental EKE spectra for the Fe-rich Mn@sub 1-x@Fe@sub x@ alloys can be nicely described by the simulated ones made in the framework of the effective medium approximation on the suppositions of nonmagnetic @gamma@-phase and that the boundary between pure @gamma@-Fe phase and a mixture of @gamma@- + @alpha@-Fe phases follows the phase diagram for bulk Mn-Fe alloys. The optical properties of all the investigated alloys can be separated into three groups which are related to the different crystalline structures of alloys: the OC spectra for the Mn@sub 1-x@Fe@sub x@ alloys which contains @alpha@-Fe phase (x > 0.65-0.70) exhibit a noticeable interband absorption peak located at about 2.4 eV; such a peak is completely absent in the @gamma@-phase based alloys; and the @alpha@-Mn based alloys reveal a significant interband absorption peak near 1.4 -1.5 eV.