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Article
Growth and characterisation of Gd5(SixGe1−x)4 thin film
Journal of Applied Physics
  • Ravi L. Hadimani, Iowa State University
  • Cajetan Ikenna Nlebedim, Iowa State University
  • Y. Melikhov, Cardiff University
  • David C. Jiles, Iowa State University
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2013
DOI
10.1063/1.4799975
Abstract

We report for the first time successful growth of magnetic thin films containing the Gd5(Six Ge1−x)4 phase, which is expected to show giant magnetocaloric properties. The film wasdeposited by Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) on a (001) silicon wafer at 200  °C from a polycrystalline Gd5Si2.09 Ge 1.91 target prepared by arc melting. PLD was achieved using a femto second laser with a repetition rate of 1 kHz, and a pulse energy of up to 3.5 mJ. The average film thickness was measured to be 400 nm using a Scanning Electron Microscopy and the composition of the film was analyzed using Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy and found to be close to the target composition. X-Ray Diffraction analysis confirmed the presence of Gd5Si2Ge 2 monoclinic structure. Magnetic moment vs. magnetic field measurement confirmed that the film was ferromagnetic at a temperature of 200 K. The transition temperature of the film was determined from a plot of magnetic moment vs. temperature. The transition temperature was between 280 and 300 K which is close to the transition temperature of the bulk material.

Comments

The following article appeared in Journal of Applied Physics 113 (2013): 17A935 and may be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4799975.

Rights
Copyright 2013 American Institute of Physics. This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and the American Institute of Physics.
Copyright Owner
American Institute of Physics
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Citation Information
Ravi L. Hadimani, Cajetan Ikenna Nlebedim, Y. Melikhov and David C. Jiles. "Growth and characterisation of Gd5(SixGe1−x)4 thin film" Journal of Applied Physics Vol. 113 Iss. 17 (2013) p. 17A935
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/rlhadimani/9/