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Transport properties of MnTe films with cracks produced in thermal cycling process

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Abstract

As a promising material in antiferromagnetic spintronics, MnTe films manifested complex characteristics according to previous reports. In this work, we investigate in details the temperature dependence of resistivity of MnTe films grown on SiO2/Si substrate and focus on the divaricating of cooling and warming resistivity-temperature (R-T) curves. It is found that such a divaricating in resistivity is associated with cracks produced in thermal cycles. By comparing the crystalline character and the morphology before and after the cycles, we verify the appearance of cracks and the release of stress in the films. Based on the temperature dependence of thermal-expansion coefficient of Si and MnTe, the origin of the cracks is the mismatched thermal-expansion coefficient (α). The humps, which only appear in the R-T curve of the first cooling process, are attributed to the produced cracks and/or the unreleased stress.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China with Grant No. 51522104 and 51331006. This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China with Grant No. 2017YFA0206302.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 72 Wenhua Road, Shenyang, 110016, People’s Republic of China

    Liang Yang, Zhenhua Wang & Zhidong Zhang

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  1. Liang Yang
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  2. Zhenhua Wang
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  3. Zhidong Zhang
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Correspondence to Zhenhua Wang.

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Yang, L., Wang, Z. & Zhang, Z. Transport properties of MnTe films with cracks produced in thermal cycling process. Appl. Phys. A 123, 650 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-017-1264-z

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