Transport measurements of the spin wave gap of thin Mn films

TL;DR

This study investigates the spin wave gap in ultrathin Mn films through temperature-dependent transport measurements, revealing a non-universal weak localization correction and estimating key magnetic parameters.

Contribution

It introduces the first observation of a non-universal weak localization correction in ultrathin Mn films and provides estimates of the spin wave energy gap and exchange energy.

Findings

Identification of a non-universal weak localization correction

Estimation of the spin wave energy gap as 16 K

Determination of the exchange energy as 320 K

Abstract

Temperature dependent transport measurements on ultrathin antiferromagnetic Mn films reveal a heretofore unknown non-universal weak localization correction to the conductivity which extends to disorder strengths greater than 100 k$\Omega$ per square. The inelastic scattering of electrons off of gapped antiferromagnetic spin waves gives rise to an inelastic scattering length which is short enough to place the system in the 3d regime. The extracted fitting parameters provide estimates of the energy gap ($\Delta = 16$ K) and exchange energy ($\bar{J} = 320$ K).