Investigation of antiperovskite Mn₃CuN_x film prepared by DC reactive magnetron sputtering

Antiperovskite Mn₃CuN_x film was prepared by dc reactive magnetron sputtering. It is the first time to report an antiperovskite ternary nitride film. The composition and crystal structure were characterized by energy dispersive spectroscope (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). From the XRD pattern, it displays a (1 0 0) preferential orientation. A comparative study on the properties of Mn ₃CuN_x film and the bulk sample was presented. The film exhibits an antiferromagnetic to paramagnetic transition around 135 K, similar with the bulk sample. With temperature, the resistivity of the film shows semiconductor-like behavior throughout the measured temperature region, whereas there is an abrupt drop around the magnetic transition for the bulk. The variable temperature XRD results indicate that the film did not display any structure transition and shows a normal linear thermal expansion property around the magnetic transition.