title: Depth-dependent magnetism in epitaxial MnSb thin films: effects of surface passivation and cleaning.
abstract: Depth-dependent  magnetism in MnSb(0001) epitaxial films has been studied by combining experimental methods with different surface specificities: polarized neutron reflectivity, x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD), x-ray resonant magnetic scattering and spin-polarized low energy electron microscopy (SPLEEM). A native oxide ∼4.5 nm thick covers air-exposed samples which increases the film's coercivity. HCl etching efficiently removes this oxide and in situ surface treatment of etched samples enables surface magnetic contrast to be observed in SPLEEM. A thin Sb capping layer prevents oxidation and preserves ferromagnetism throughout the MnSb film. The interpretation of Mn  L(3,2) edge XMCD data is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK.
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Aldous
authors.forename: C W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Burrows
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Maskery
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Brewer
authors.forename: T P A
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Hase
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Duffy
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Lees
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Hanke
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Decoster
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Theis
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Quesada
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Schmid
authors.forename: G R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Bell
mesh_terms: D002942:Circular Dichroism; D008280:Magnetics; D017895:Manganese Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D013499:Surface Properties; D013696:Temperature; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D017895:Manganese Compounds