Structural and electrical transport studies on CrN(001) thin films

Abstract

We report the structural and electrical transport studies on CrN1-x (CrN) thin films with varying of N2 flow (5 - 25 SCCM) in an Argon environment of 25 SCCM. CrN thin films were grown at 600°C, in a multi chamber vacuum system at working pressure of 1×10-2 Torr, under the base pressure of 1×10-7 Torr. Structural and electrical transport measurements were carried out using X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and SQUID magnetometer, respectively. XRD (θ-2θ, ω-2θ, and ω) patterns on CrN thin films revealed a structural phase transition which is associated with the lattice parameter variation from 4.136 to 4.168 Å. The temperature dependent resistivity measurements on CrN/MgO(001) showed a clear change in slope at 280 K which confirms the magneto-structural transition of CrN from paramagnetic rock salt face-centered-cubic (FCC) to antiferromagnetic orthorhombic structure. © 2016 Author(s).