An electron microscopic study on MnBi thin films

Abstract

The structure and orientation of MnBi thin films prepared by sequential evaporation of bismuth and manganese on glass substrates were studied by transmission electron microscopy and electron diffraction. Results indicate that these films develop a preferred orientation with thec-axis perpendicular to the film plane. This preferred orientation is due to the formation of MnBi from a highly oriented bismuth layer, i.e., a layer with thec-axis perpendicular to the film plane. Trace amounts of elemental bismuth, manganese and MnO are found in these MnBi films. There is evidence of close parallel alignment between the MnBi and the bismuth lattices.