Investigation of the Microstructural and Magnetic Properties of Ni on GeSn Layers
Abstract
Thermal processing of nickel (Ni) layers on germanium-tin (GeSn) can strongly modify the Ni film and the Ni/GeSn interface within a restricted thermal budget; however, the influence of GeSn crystalline quality on Ni-Ge-Sn interfacial evolution and the magnetic response of the Ni layer remains incompletely understood. Here, Ni (15~nm)/Ge1−xSnx/Ge/Gd2O3/Si(111) heterostructures (x = 0.08 and $0.10$) were investigated following rapid thermal annealing at 573 and 973~K for 10~s using X-ray diffraction, pole-figure analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy depth profiling, and temperature- and field-dependent magnetization measurements. Annealing at 573~K preserves the crystallographic texture of Ge0.92Sn0.08, whereas Ge0.90Sn0.10 exhibits microtwin formation and reduced structural integrity. Annealing at 973~K, employed as a severe upper-bound thermal reference, causes extensive structural degradation in both heterostructures, with substantially greater deterioration in the higher-Sn sample. XPS depth profiling reveals progressive Ni-Ge-Sn intermixing accompanied by pronounced Sn surface segregation with increasing annealing temperature. Magnetization measurements show coexisting ferromagnetic and superparamagnetic contributions in the as-deposited and 573~K samples, whereas annealing at 973~K strongly suppresses the ferromagnetic response, producing highly unsaturated M(H) loops together with reduced saturation magnetization and coercivity. These magnetic changes are consistent with extensive interfacial alloying and dilution of the metallic Ni layer. This study establishes a direct correlation between GeSn crystalline quality, interfacial diffusion, and magnetic behavior.
Versions
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BibTeX
@misc{v2026investigation,
title = {{Investigation of the Microstructural and Magnetic Properties of Ni on GeSn Layers}},
author = {Tharundev V V and Dushyant Singh and Subha Maity and Vigneshwari S R and Dhammapriy Gayakwad and Shivesh Yadav and Krista R Khiangte},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.35273},
eprint = {2610.35273},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.35273},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Investigation of the Microstructural and Magnetic Properties of Ni on GeSn Layers
AU - Tharundev V V
AU - Dushyant Singh
AU - Subha Maity
AU - Vigneshwari S R
AU - Dhammapriy Gayakwad
AU - Shivesh Yadav
AU - Krista R Khiangte
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/26
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.35273
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.35273
AB - Thermal processing of nickel (Ni) layers on germanium-tin (GeSn) can strongly modify the Ni film and the Ni/GeSn interface within a restricted thermal budget; however, the influence of GeSn crystalline quality on Ni-Ge-Sn interfacial evolution and the magnetic response of the Ni layer remains incompletely understood. Here, Ni (15~nm)/Ge_1−xSn_x/Ge/Gd_2O_3/Si(111) heterostructures (x = 0.08 and $0.10$) were investigated following rapid thermal annealing at 573 and 973~K for 10~s using X-ray diffraction, pole-figure analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy depth profiling, and temperature- and field-dependent magnetization measurements. Annealing at 573~K preserves the crystallographic texture of Ge_0.92Sn_0.08, whereas Ge_0.90Sn_0.10 exhibits microtwin formation and reduced structural integrity. Annealing at 973~K, employed as a severe upper-bound thermal reference, causes extensive structural degradation in both heterostructures, with substantially greater deterioration in the higher-Sn sample. XPS depth profiling reveals progressive Ni-Ge-Sn intermixing accompanied by pronounced Sn surface segregation with increasing annealing temperature. Magnetization measurements show coexisting ferromagnetic and superparamagnetic contributions in the as-deposited and 573~K samples, whereas annealing at 973~K strongly suppresses the ferromagnetic response, producing highly unsaturated M(H) loops together with reduced saturation magnetization and coercivity. These magnetic changes are consistent with extensive interfacial alloying and dilution of the metallic Ni layer. This study establishes a direct correlation between GeSn crystalline quality, interfacial diffusion, and magnetic behavior.
ER -