Growth of manganese silicide films by co-deposition of Mn and Si on Si(1 1 1): A spectroscopic and morphological investigation

MnSi is a ferromagnetic compound with a Curie temperature of 29 K. Recent theoretical studies predict that 2 ML of MnSi epitaxially grown on Si show a ferromagnetic metallic ground state with spin polarization of about 50%. This would allow the development of spintronic devices based on the injection of spin-polarized current from a ferromagnetic metal into a semiconductor. In this context the possibility of growing in situ MnSi on the Si(1 1 1) surface has been explored. Thermal reaction, crystalline structure and electronic properties of the grown films have been studied in situ by photoemission spectroscopy (PES), X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), and low energy electron diffraction (LEED). Depositing a thin film of Mn on Si(1 1 1) the formation of ordered islands (with dimensions dependent on the amount of deposited Mn) is driven by annealing at selected temperatures, as already observed. Our preliminary studies show that by simultaneously depositing Mn and Si in 1:1 stoichiometry on Si(1 1 1) a large improvement in the homogeneity of the MnSi films is achieved.