Ferromagnetism and structural phase transition in monoclinic FeGe film

Abstract

Binary compound FeGe hosts multiple structures, from cubic and hexagonal to monoclinic. Compared to the well-known skyrmion lattice in the cubic phase and the antiferromagnetic charge–density wave in the hexagonal phase, the monoclinic FeGe is less explored. Here, we synthesized the monoclinic FeGe films on Al2O3 (001) and studied their structural, magnetic, and transport properties. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy characterizations indicate that the FeGe films are epitaxial to the substrate. Unlike the antiferromagnetic bulk, the monoclinic FeGe films are ferromagnetic with Curie temperature as high as ∼800 K, contributing to the anomalous Hall effect in the transport measurements. Similar to the hexagonal FeGe, we captured a structural phase transition in the monoclinic FeGe films at ∼100 K in real and reciprocal spaces by transmission electron microscope. Our work enriches the phase diagram of the FeGe family and suggests that FeGe offers an ideal platform for studying multiphase transitions and related device applications.