Science Daily March 31, 2021
Previously an international team of researchers (Germany, China) discovered that manganese silicide hosts magnetic skyrmions. Whereas Mn-Si alloy, B20 phase, is particularly suitable for the formation of skyrmion, MnSi1.7 is a contaminant. Now the team has developed a simple and efficient method to overcome this problem and prepare single‐phase MnSi films on Si substrates. It is based on the millisecond reaction between metallic Mn and Si using flash‐lamp annealing (FLA). By controlling the FLA energy density, single‐phase MnSi or MnSi1.7 or their mixture can be grown at will. Compared with bulk MnSi, the prepared MnSi films show an increased Curie temperature of up to 41 K. The magnetic skyrmions are stable over a much wider temperature and magnetic‐field range than reported previously. The results help to enhance specific functional properties, such as the stability of magnetic skyrmions. The work could serve as an important model for other, more practicable materials…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
The separation of MnSi and MnSi1.7 phases. Credit: Advanced Functional Materials, 08 February 2021