High-quality MnxTi1−xN thin films were grown on MgO(001) substrates using plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. Magnetic measurements evidence the presence of ferromagnetism with Curie temperature exceeding 380K. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicates that the Mn ions are in a divalent state and uniformly substitute on Ti cation sites, consistent with the ferromagnetism that correlates with Mn substitution on Ti sites. The origin of the ferromagnetism might be attributed to itinerant-carrier mediated Rudermann-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida (RKKY)-type long-range coupling which allows for arbitrary itinerant-carrier spin polarization and dynamic correlations.

No abstract