Physicochemical and structural analysis of MBE grown EuxMny films

The formation of new binary compounds between europium and manganese in the form of thin films has been studied. X-ray Reflectivity, Reflection High Energy Electron Diffraction and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy confirmed intermixing at elevated temperatures. X-ray Diffraction indicated the formation of new Eu-Mn based compounds; cubic structure with the lattice parameters a = 6.98 Å, and hexagonal EuMn5 (a = 5.20 Å, c = 4.01 Å). Valence transitions from Eu2+ to Eu3+ were observed for certain stoichiometries. A transition to a magnetically ordered phase was observed for selected films in the Eu-Mn system at 15 K, 43 K and 62 K.