Cyanide-bridged NiCr and alternate NiFe–NiCr magnetic ultrathin films on functionalized Si(100) surface

Abstract

Sequential growth in solution (SGS) was performed for the magnetic cyanide-bridged network obtained from the reaction of Ni(H₂O)²⁺ and Cr(CN)₆³⁻ (referred to as NiCr) on a Si(100) wafer already functionalized by a Ni(II) complex. The growth process led to isolated dots and a low coverage of the surface. We used the NiFe network as a template to improve the growth of the magnetic network. We elaborated alternate NiFe (paramagnetic)–NiCr (ferromagnetic) ultrathin films around 6 nm thick. The magnetic behaviour confirmed the alternate structure with the ferromagnetic zones isolated between the paramagnetic ones since the evolution of the blocking temperature is consistent with the evolution of the layers’ thickness expected from the SGS process.