Manganese-Nitride based Novel Magnetic Materials

OVERVIEW

Researchers at Georgetown University’s Department of Physics have developed a novel ionically driven synthesis method to grow high-quality ordered manganese- nitride based magnetic materials by magnetron sputtering system. This ferrimagnetic material exhibits perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and substantial domain wall velocity, making it suitable for numerous spintronic device implementations and domain-wall-based magnetic memory applications.

BACKGROUND

Spintronics is an emerging field where the electron spins, in addition to the electron charge, are used to carry and manipulate digital information. It has been shown to potentially transform the computer memory market with the emergency and adaptation of magnetic random access memory (MRAM). Moreover, it may revolutionize nanoelectronics with the creation of post- Complementary Metal-Oxide- Semiconductor (COMS) and neuromorphic technologies.Currently, most magnetic materials employed in spintronics are based on cobalt or rare-earth elements, which causes environmental concerns and are prone to geopolitical factors. A promising alternative material for more sustainable spintronics is the manganese-nitride family of materials, composed of economically viable and earth-abundant elements.

Benefit

• This material system offers an all-nitride platform which could easily tune the magnetic properties, for example, from antiferromagnetic (AF) to ferrimagnetic (FiM).
• The growing substrate of this material aligns with current Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) processes that are widely used in the semiconductor industry, potentially reducing production costs and making it more accessible for commercial applications.
• This synthesis method unlike existing methods that demand precise control of the nitrogen environment during deposition,instead it leverages an nitrogen content seed layer, which is relatively easy to grow.

Market Application

• The Manganese-nitride based films can be potentially integrated into existing spintronic devices such as MRAM, magnetic storage, and magnetic sensors, making them more sustainable.
• It also may offer transformative technologies such as neuromorphic computing through its magneto-ionic properties.

Publications

• Provisional Application Filed No. 63/594,175
• Chen, Zhijie & Jensen, Christopher & Liu, Chen & Zhang, Xixiang & Liu, Kai. (2023). Ionically driven synthesis and exchange bias in Mn4N/MnN x heterostructures. Applied Physics Letters. 123. 10.1063/5.0165895