Investigations on Ni-Co-Mn-Sn thin films: Effect of substrate temperature and Ar gas pressure on the martensitic transformations and exchange bias properties

We report the effect of substrate temperature (TS) and Ar gas pressure (PD) on the martensitic transformations, magnetic and exchange bias (EB) properties in Heusler type Ni-Co-Mn-Sn epitaxial thin films. Martensitic transformation temperatures and EB fields at 5 K were found to increase with increasing TS. The observed maximum EB value of 320 Oe after field cooling in the film deposited at 650 ∘C is high among the values reported for Ni-Mn-Sn thin films which is attributed to the coexistence of ferromagnetic (FM) and antiferromagnetic (AF) phases in the martensitic state. In the case of PD variation, with increase in PD, martensitic transformation temperatures were increased and a sharp transformation was observed in the film deposited at 0.06 mbar. Magnetization values at 5 K were higher for increasing PD. These observations are attributed to the compositional shift. EB effect is also present in these films. Microstructural features observed using atomic force microscopy (AFM) shows a fine twinning and reduced precipitation with increase in PD, which is also confirmed from the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images. EB effects in both series were confirmed from the training effect. Target ageing effect has been observed in the films deposited before and after ninety days of time interval. This has been confirmed both on substrate temperature and Ar gas pressure variations.