Magnetic and transport properties of NiMnAl thin films

The magnetic and transport properties of Ni2MnAl thin films prepared using pulse laser deposition were investigated. It was shown that the films are granular and multiphase. Contrary to the data reported earlier we observe nonmonotonic temperature dependence of resistance with minimum in the vicinity of 100 K for the films deposited on substrates held at 773 K and negative magnetoresistance MR values of about 2.5% at 5 K and 1.6% at RT in magnetic field of 50 kOe. These values of MR are the highest reported up to date for Ni2MnAl films. Large negative MR in our films arises from a nonhomogeneous structure and its origin is the same as for granular films.