Preparation of highly conductive Mn-doped Fe3O4 thin films with spin polarization at room temperature using a pulsed-laser deposition technique

We report on the preparation of MnxFe3−xO4 (x=0, 0.1, or 0.5) epitaxial thin films using a pulsed-laser deposition technique. Conditions for modified film formation are discussed, in addition to their electrical and magnetic properties in relation to the potential development of room temperature spin electronics devices. The film with x=0.1 could be fabricated at a higher substrate temperature (600°C) than the Fe3O4 thin film without Mn doping. The doped films exhibited low resistivity of about 7.0×10−3(x=0.1)–9.0×10−2(x=0.5)Ωcm at room temperature. Moreover, a spin polarization of the carrier of MnxFe3−xO4 (x=0, 0.1, or 0.5) films was confirmed at room temperature by examination of anomalous Hall coefficient measurements.