Spin polarization and magnetotransport properties of systematically disordered Fe60Al40 thin films

Abstract

We investigate the evolution of spin polarization, spontaneous Hall angle (SHA), saturation magnetization, and Curie temperature of B2-ordered Fe 60 Al 40 thin films under varying antisite disorder, induced by Ne+-ion irradiation. The spin polarization increases monotonically as a function of ion fluence. A relatively high polar- ization of 46% and a SHA of 3.1% are achieved on 40 nm films irradiated with 2 × 10 16 ions/cm 2 at 30 keV. An interesting divergence in the trends of the magnetization and SHA is observed for low disorder concentrations. The high spin polarization and its broad tunability range make ion-irradiated Fe 60 Al 40 a promising material for application in spin electronic devices.