Structure and magnetic properties of nickel nitride thin film synthesized by plasma-based ion implantation

Nickel layers have been implanted with nitrogen using plasma-based ion implantation. We have been able to stabilize nickel nitride with the Ni₃N stoichiometry. The structural characterization was done by means of grazing incidence X-ray diffraction and magnetic characterization was performed using a SQUID susceptometer. In addition to this, electronic structure calculations have been carried out using the full potential linearized augmented plane wave method. The modelling results are in full agreement with experiments.