Resistivity of Ion-Bombarded Chromium Thin-Films

Chromium is a widely used material that has many applications, such as being an additive to steel to make stainless steel. This metal has properties that make it different than many other materials. Close to room temperature, chromium changes from antiferromagnetic to paramagnetic at a temperature called the Néel temperature. The antiferromagnetism can be altered by defects in the lattice structure. This affects the resistivity as a function of temperature due to the scattering of the electrons by magnons. Samples of chromium on two substrates, MgO and amorphous silicon oxide were bombarded with argon and neon in order to disorder the crystal structure. An increase in the number of defects increases the resistivity due to Matthiessen's rule. So far it has been seen that bombarding samples of chromium with argon and neon affects the electronic properties, including the Néel temperature and the resistivity at absolute zero, ρ₀, which is related to disorder. Preliminary results have shown that as bombardment dose increases, the Néel temperature decreases and ρ₀ increases.