Integration of epitaxial permalloy on Si (1 0 0) through domain matching epitaxy paradigm

This paper addresses epitaxial integration of magnetic materials with Si (1 0 0) based solid state devices. Epitaxial Ni82.5Fe17.5 (permalloy, Py) thin films have been synthesized by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) on Si (1 0 0) using MgO/TiN as a template buffer. This epitaxial growth of these large lattice misfit systems was achieved through domain matching epitaxy (DME). The in-plane XRD pattern and selective area electron diffraction (SAED) results clearly indicate cube-on-cube epitaxial alignment. The bright field TEM image of Py/MgO/TiN/Si (1 0 0) heterostructure infers a Py layer thickness of ∼30 nm, with a well aligned island (150–200 nm) structure that is consistent with Volmer–Weber type growth. Magnetization data collected at 4 K and 300 K indicates that the easy axis of the magnetization lies in the plane of the Py. In addition, we have observed an intrinsic positive exchange bias (PEB) field of ∼104 Oe, where the magnetic hysteresis loop is shifted toward the positive field axis under zero field cooling conditions.