Magnetic properties of MnAs thin films irradiated with highly charged ions

We present the first investigation on the effect of highly charged ion bombardment on a manganese arsenide thin film. The MnAs films, 150 nm thick, are irradiated with 90 keV Ne9+ ions with a fluence varying from 1.6×1012 to 1.6×1015 ions/cm2. The structural and magnetic properties of the film after irradiation are investigated using different techniques, namely, X-ray diffraction and magnetic force microscope. Preliminary results are presented. From the study of the lattice spacing, we measure a change on the film structure that depends on the fluence, similarly to previous studies with other materials. On the other hand, investigations on the surface show a strong modification of its magnetic properties