The present disclosure relates generally to magnetic materials that can be provided in thin film format. Technical background

The discoveries of giant magnetoresistance (GMR), and tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) have revolutionized applications such as data storage and magnetic recording, and have launched the vast field of spintronics. Layered structures in various spintronics applications are currently, in general, on the nanolevel and there is extensive research on multilayers composed of magnetic and nonmagnetic material. For many applications employing magnetic thin films, for example such based on TMR and GMR, there are various issues to be solved for improved functionality, in selection, (thermal) stability, control of layer thickness (scalability), interface quality, and epitaxy / control of crystal structure. For further development and new/improved applications, it is desirable to resolve some or all of these issues.

One class of materials that has received some attention as a potential solution, if they could be made magnetic, is the class of materials commonly denoted "M _n+ iAX _n "-phase materials, or simply MAX phase materials, with inherent nanolaminated structure and known characteristics such as high stability and anisotropic properties. See e.g. P. Ekiund et al., Thin Solid Films 518 (2010), pages 1851-1878 for a review of "M _n+ iAX _n "-phases.

These materials are comparatively new in thin film format and have attracted increasing attention due to their unique combination of ceramic and metallic properties. Furthermore, the inherent stacking of individual atomic thin layers can result in vastly anisotropic electrical and optical properties.

In WO/2012/070991 a material that combines properties as of materials from M _n+ iAX _n -phases with magnetism is shown.

To date, only a few "M _n+ iAX _n "-phases have experimentally been demonstrated to show or indicate magnetic behavior. These phases include [Cr _-x Mn _x ] ₂ GeC (x<0.25) (A. S. Ingason et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 195502 (2013)), [CiVyMriy ] ₂ AIC (y≤0.16) (A. Mockute et al., Phys. Rev. B 87, 0941 13 (2013)), and [Cr _1-z Mn _z ] ₂ GaC (z<0.5) (S. Lin et al., Journal of Applied Physics, 1 13, 053502, (2013)) with a magnetic state obtained from alloying Cr-based MAX phases with Mn, in concentrations up to 25 at.%.

However, more suitable candidates for materials synthesis need to be identified, and the task of finding new stable magnetic "M _n+ iAX _n "-phases is still open. Combining the inherent nanolaminated structure and other known characteristics of such material with magnetism, in one and the same material, may be beneficial for many applications, including electronics and spintronics applications.

Summary of the invention

In view of the above, an object of this disclosure is to present alternative or improved magnetic materials to those known in prior art, by combining properties as of material from the class of materials known as

"M _n+ iAX _n "-phase with magnetism.

A specific object is to present a magnetic material which can be made more magnetic or provided with other magnetic properties than in prior art.

The inventors have performed a detailed systematic theoretical study of potential magnetic "M _n+ iAX _n "-phases and their stability, shown how stable and magnetic "M _n+ iAX _n "-phase based material can be provided, and have synthesized such material.

The invention is defined by the appended independent claims.

Embodiments are set forth in the dependent claims and in the following description and drawings.

Hence, the above-mentioned and other objects and advantages, which will be evident from the following description, are according to a first aspect achieved by a nanolaminated magnetic multielement material described by the formula Μ _η +ι-δΑι _-α Χη-ρ, wherein n=1 , 2, 3 or higher, δ≤ 0.25, a < 0.25, and p < 0.25, A is at least one A-group element selected from a first group consisting of Ga, In, Tl, Sn, Pb, P, As and S and optionally in combination with at least one A-group element selected from a second group consisting of Al, Ge and Si, and X is at least one of C, N, and O. M is one or more different transition metals comprising at least a first transition metal contributing to making the material magnetic, wherein the at least a first transition metal contributing to making the material magnetic constitutes, compared to the total amount of M, more than 90 at.%.

By magnetic is here meant presence of a net magnetic moment in the absence of an external magnetic field, and/or presence of ordered magnetic moments in the absence of an external magnetic field. This typically means that there is an average magnitude of magnetic moment per atom of M, such as at least about 0.01 , or at least about 0.1 , or at least about 1.5 Bohr magneton (μ _Β /Μ). It should be noted that magnetic moments of individual atoms may counteract each other so that the net magnetic moment of the material is about 0 or at least less than the sum of average magnitude of the magnetic moments for all atoms of M.

By contributing to making the material magnetic is meant that without such transition metal, there would be a non-magnetic or at least a less magnetic material.

By nanolaminated material is here meant material with a laminated, that is, layered, structure in which the thicknesses of individual layers are less than 10 nm, or in the range of about 0.1 nm (or one atomic layer) to about 3 nm (or maximum size of one unit cell in z-direction).The nanolaminated material may also, with reference to the lower limit, be denoted atomic thin multilayer material.

The presence of the one or more A-group elements selected from the first group consisting of Ga, In, Tl, Sn, Pb, P, As and S in the nanolaminated magnetic material contributes to making the material stable to such an extent that it is possible to allow the amount of the at least a first transition metal contributing to making the material magnetic, compared to the total amount of M, to be above 90 at.%. Thereby, the material can be made more magnetic, or provided with other magnetic properties (such as a changed transition temperature, or changed magnitude/ordering of the magnetic moments) than a material in which the amount of the at least a first transition metal, compared to the total amount of M, of stability reasons may not be more than 90 at.% .

By contributing to making the material stable is meant that without such combination of one or more A-elements selected from the first group consisting of Ga, In, Tl, Sn, Pb, P, As and S the material would not be synthesizable.

As will be recognized by the skilled person, the material is based on "M _n+ iAX _n "-phase material and compared to conventional magnetic

materials/multilayers, the present magnetic material thus e.g. allows for improved scalability control (i.e. control of layer thickness), even atomic level control of film layer thickness, epitaxial thin film growth, sharpness of film surface and therefore also interfaces, and the possibility to have negligible interface lattice mismatch by using a combination of different "M _n+ iAX _n "-phase based materials within one and the same device or superstructure.

The one or more different transition metals, M, may consist essentially of the at least a first transition metal contributing to making the material magnetic.

That M may consist essentially of the at least a first transition metal is meant that M may consist also of other materials which do not influence the magnetic properties of the nanolaminated multielement material.

The at least a first transition metal contributing to making the material magnetic may constitute, compared to the total amount of M, more than 90 at.%, or more than or about: 92 at.%, 94 at.%, 96 at.%, 98 at.%, or about 100 at.%.

Alternatively, the at least a first transition metal contributing to making the material magnetic may constitute, compared to the total amount of M, between about 90.5-100 at.%, between about 91-100 at.%, between about 92-100 at.%, between about 94-100 at.%, between about 96-100 at.% or between about 98-100 at%.

The at least a first transition metal contributing to making the material magnetic may be at least one of Mn, Fe, Co or Ni.

In one embodiment the at least a first transition metal contributing to making the material magnetic may be Mn. In another embodiment the at least a first transition metal contributing to making the material magnetic may be Mn in combination with Fe and/or Co and/or Ni, wherein Mn may constitute, compared to the total amount of the at least a first transition metal contributing to making the material magnetic, more than or about 50 at.%, more than or about 60 at%, more than or about 70 at.%, more than or about 80 at.%, more than or about 90 at.%, more than than or about 95 at.%, or more than about 98 at.%.

The nanolaminated magnetic multielement material may further comprise at least a second transition metal which may constitute, compared to the total amount of M, less than 10 at.%.

The at least a second transition metal may constitute, compared to the total amount of M, less than 10 at.%, or less than about: 8 at.%, or 6 at.%, or 4 at.%, or 2 at%, or about 0 at.%.

In an alternative embodiment the at least a second transition metal may constitute, compared to the total amount of M, between 0-9.5 at.%, between 0-9 at.%, between 0-8 at.%, between 0-6 at.%, between 0-4 at.%, or between 0-2 at.%.

The at least a second transition metal may be at least one of Ti, Sc, V, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta or Cr.

X may be C in one embodiment of the nanolaminated magnetic multielement material.

In one embodiment the A-group element may be Ga.

In one embodient the A-group element may be Ga, X may be C and M may be Mn.

A may consist of one or more A-group elements selected from the first group consisting of Ga, In, TI, Sn, Pb, As and S in combination with at least one A-group element selected from the second group consisting of Al, Ge and Si, in which combination the one or more A-group element selected from the first group consisting of Ga, In, TI, Sn, Pb, As and S may constitute, compared to the total amount of A, more than or about 10 at.%, more than or about 20 at.%, more than or about 30 at.%, more than or about 40 at.%, more than or about 50 at.%, more than or about 60 at.%, more than or about 70 at.%, more than or about 80 at.%. more than or about 90 at.%, more than or about 95 at.%, more than or about 99 at.% or about 99.5 at.%.

In an alternative embodiment A may consist of Ga in combination with Al, in which combination Ga may constitute, compared to the total amount of A, more than or about 10 at.%, more than or about 20 at.%, more than or about 30 at.%, more than or about 40 at.%, more than or about 50 at.%, more than or about 60 at.%, more than or about 70 at.%, more than or about 80 at.% more than or about 90 at.%, more than or about 95 at.%, more than or about 99 at.% or about 99.5 at.%.

In yet an embodiment A may consist of Ga in combination with Ge, in which combination Ga may constitute, compared to the total amount of A, more than or about 50 at.%, more than or about 60 at.%, more than or about 70 at.%, more than or about 80 at.%, more than or about 90 at.%, more than or about 95 at.%, more than or about 99 at.% or about 99.5 at.%.

According to a second aspect there is provided a thin film comprising the nanolaminated multielement material described above.

Such thin film may e.g. be used as one or more of magnetic layers in a giant magnetoresistance cell or tunnel magnetoresistance cell, but also other applications are possible, including conventional ones where magnetic thin film layers are used. By thin film is generally meant a layer of material ranging in thickness from fractions of a nanometer (or atomic monolayer) up to hundreds of micrometer, such as 100 micrometer or at least up to10 micrometer.

According to a third aspect there is provided a layered stack comprising a first thin film as above and comprising a first nanolaminated material, and a second thin film comprising a second nanolaminated multielement material described by the formula M +i-s-A X -p', wherein n'=1 , 2, 3 or higher, δ' < 0.25, a'≤ 0.25, and p'≤ 0.25, A' is at least one A- group element, X' is at least one of C, N, and O, and M' is at least one transition metal.

That is, the second thin film in the stack is also a "M _n+ iAX _n "-phase based material that may be magnetic or non-magnetic. A stack of this kind can utilize properties of different "M _n +iAX _n "-phase materials in one and the same structure. A stack where layers have different properties can thus be provided, for example, layers having the same or similar magnetic properties but that are different in some other property attainable from "M _n+ iAX _n "-phase material, and/or a layer that have different magnetic properties.

A layered stack may comprise at least a first and at least a second thin film and in some embodiments it may comprise more than 2, 3, 4 or more different layers of thin films.

The second nanolaminated multielement material of the stack may be a nanolaminated multielement material as described above, which has different magnetic properties than the nanolaminated multielement material of the first thin film.

M and IW may have substantially the same composition, wherein M'- layers of the nanolaminated multielement material of the second thin film may be different in composition than M-layers of the nanolaminated material of the first thin film.

M and M' may have substantially the same composition, wherein M'- layers of the nanolaminated multielement material of the second thin film and M-layers of the nanolaminated material of the first thin film may be repeated in different patterns.

Hence, there may be substantially different magnetic properties although the first and second nanolaminated materials may have substantially or even exactly the same M, or MA, or MAX composition. The composition within M layers, that is, the M-element disorder, may determine magnetic properties. The magnetic properties may also be affected by how M layers of different compositions are repeated, which may result in different magnetic properties although both the M and M'-layers have the same composition.

Brief description of the drawings

The above, as well as other aspects, objects and advantages of the present invention, will be better understood through the following illustrative and non-limited detailed description, with reference to the appended drawings. Fig. 1 is a side view of "M _n+ iAX _n "-phase unit cells for (a) n=1 , (b) n=2, and (c) n=3.

Fig. 2 illustrates formation enthalpy ΔΗ of Mn _n+ \C _n and Cr _n+ i/AC _n with respect to most competitive phases (c.p.), for A = Al, Ge and Ga, and n = 1.

Fig. 3 is a table over identified sets of most competitive phases within the material systems of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 shows result from a XRD (X-ray Diffraction) scan (including pole figure) of a sputtered Mn-Ga-C thin film, showing Mn ₂ GaC MAX phase.

Fig. 5 shows for the same film as in Fig. 4 (a) a low magnification cross sectional STEM (Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy) image of the film with (b) the Mn, Ga and C elemental maps, (c) is a 1 1-20 zone axis selected area electron diffraction pattern while (d) and (e) are HR(S)TEM (High Resolution (Scanning) Transmission Electron Microscopy) images of the structure (rotated).

Fig. 6 shows the low field magnetization of Mn ₂ GaC measured with

VSM (Vibrating Sample Magnetometer) for the temperature T=50 K. A ferromagnetic response is evident through the remanence observed for an in- plane orientation. The diamagnetic response of the substrate has been subtracted.

Fig. 7 schematically illustrates a thin film comprising a nanolaminated multielement material.

Fig. 8 schematically illustrates a layered stack comprising a first and a second thin film comprising nanolaminated multielement material. Detailed description

The commonly denoted "M _n+ iAX _n "-phases are often described by the general composition formula Μ _η+ ιΑΧ _η (n=1-3), with the atoms arranged in a hexagonal crystal structure, belonging to the P6 ₃ /mmc (no. 194) space group. However, n>3 have been suggested in the literature, and some materials identified as "M _n+ iAX _n "-phases have had compositions diverging from n=integer and a M and X relation diverging from M _n +iX _n . Experiments have also shown MAX phases with M, A, as well as X site solid solutions. In view of this and since the formula M _n+ iAX _n invites to a too strict interpretation, "M _n+ iAX _n "-phases may therefore better be described as compounds, or multielement materials:

• of the general formula M _n+ i-eAi _-a Xn-p, where n=1 , 2, 3 or higher,

δ < 0.25, a < 0.25, and p < 0.25;

- M is at least one transition metal;

- A is at least one A-group element; and

- X is at least one of C, N, and O.

• that can be provided in the form of thin films or coatings, from as

synthesized films or obtained from bulk material.

• that has a hexagonal crystal structure described by the P6 ₃ /mmc (no.

194) space group, though allowing vacancies on one or more of the M, A, and X sites.

• that are (inherently) nanolaminated with a substantially crystalline, i.e. single crystalline or polycrystalline, microstructure. By substantially crystalline is meant that certain deviations from a perfect crystalline structure may be included. For example, for a given structure, the skilled person will typically be able to determine whether the structure can be regarded crystalline or not. It is not realistic with a too strict interpretation. It is clearly not the case in practice that only

(theoretically) perfect crystals are regarded crystalline; instead there are numerous examples of crystals that in practice are regarded to be crystalline, although deviating from a completely perfect crystal structure. A nanolaminated and "M _n+ iAX _n "-phase based material is implicitly crystalline, since no nanolaminates would be identifiable without crystalline structure.

Fig. 1 is a side view of "M _n+ AX _n "-phase unit cells for (a) n=1 , (b) n=2, and (c) n=3. The hexagonal structure may be described as nanolaminated, with M _n+ iX _n layers interleaved with an atomic layer of A elements, which for n = 1 results in a M-X-M-A-M-X-M-A atomic layer stacking in the z-direction (upwards in Fig. 1 ). To date, only a few "M _n+ iAX _n "-phases have experimentally been demonstrated to show or indicate magnetic behavior. These phases include [Cri _-x Mn _x ] ₂ GeC (x≤0.25) (A. S. Ingason et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 195502 (2013)), [Cr _1-y Mn _y ] ₂ AIC (y<0.16) (A. Mockute et al., Phys. Rev. B 87, 0941 13 (2013)), and [Cr _1-z Mn _z ] ₂ GaC (z<0.5) (S. Lin et al., Journal of Applied Physics, 1 13, 053502, (2013)) with a magnetic state obtained from alloying Cr-based MAX phases with Mn, in concentrations up to 25 at.%.

The inventors have further investigated phase stability of other potentially magnetic materials based on nanolaminated "M _n +iAX _n "-phase materials, and come to conclusions resulting in a nanolaminated multielement material, or class of such material, described by the formula Μ _η+1-δ Αι _-α Χη-ρ, wherein n=1 , 2, 3 or higher, δ < 0.25, a < 0.25, and p < 0.25, wherein A is at least one A-group element selected from a first group consisting of Ga, In, Tl, Sn, Pb, P, As and S and optionally in combination with at least one A-group element selected from a second group consisting of Al, Ge and Si. X is at least one of C, N, and O, and M is one or more different transition metals comprising at least a first transition metal contributing to making the material magnetic, wherein the at least a first transition metal contributing to making the material magnetic constitutes, compared to the total amount of M, more than 90 at.%.

The material will hereinafter be referred to as "the nanolaminated magnetic multielement material". Hence, for the laminated magnetic multielement material, M may be described as Ml. Mm, where m thus is 1 , 2, 3 or higher, M1 being the at least a first transition metal contributing to making the material magnetic and M2 being a possible at least a second transition metal added to the material in those cases the at least a first transition metal, compared to the total amount of M, is less than 100 at.%. The laminated magnetic material is thus provided through at least one or more different transition metals, in one and the same nanolaminated multielement material.

When the at least a first transition metal M1 consists of one transition metal only, such as for example Mn, which compared to the total amount of M, is 100 at.%, no alloying of transition metals is necessary and hence the material is easier to manufacture and it is also easier to control the material composition than for a material comprising more than one M1 or at least one M1 combined with at least one M2.

The presence of the one or more A-group elements selected from the first group consisting of Ga, In, ΤΊ, Sn, Pb, P, As and S in the nanolaminated magnetic material contributes to making the material stable to such an extent that it is possible to allow the amount of the at least a first transition metal contributing to making the material magnetic, compared to the total amount of M, to be above 90 at.%. Thereby, the material can be made more magnetic, or provided with other magnetic properties (such as a changed transition temperature, or changed magnitude/ordering of the magnetic moments) than a material in which the amount of the at least a first transition metal, compared to the total amount of M, of stability reasons may not be more than 90 at.% .

The results have been verified by synthesizing and evaluating such material in practice. One embodiment that has been synthesized and evaluated, and that will be discussed in detail below, is Mn ₂ GaC, that is, a nanolaminated magnetic multielement material where A is Ga, X is C and the first transition metal is Mn, the amount of which, compared to the total amount of M, is about 100 at.%. This is also, as to present knowledge, the first stable "M _n+ iAX _n "-phase material comprising M=Mn only.

The embodiment of Mn ₂ GaC will now be discussed in some detail, together with part of an underlying study and investigation performed by the inventors. Throughout the investigaton, ab initio calculations based on Density Functional Theory (DFT), see P. Hohenberg, and W. Kohn, Physical Review 136, B864 (1964) (hereinafter Ref.1 ) were performed in combination with the developed approach presented in M. Dahlqvist et al., Physical Review B 81, 024111 (2010) (hereinafter Ref. 2) and M. Dahlqvist, et al., Physical Review B 81, 220102 (2010) (hereinafter Ref. 3) for evaluation of phase stability. The developed approach is generic, and can be applied to any MAX phase, including any of the M, A, and X elements, as well as their alloys. All calculations were performed within the software VASP, for further details of calculation parameters and optimization procedures, see Ref. 3. In a first step competing phases (c.p) were identified. A search, e.g. of phase diagrams, experimental and/or theoretical reports, may first be conducted to identify the competing phases, here in the Mn-Ga-C system. A linear optimization procedure, see e.g. Ref. 2 and 3, may then be used to identify the set of most competing phases (c.p.) with respect to the "M _n+ iAX _n "- phase. For Mn ₂ GaC, the set of most competing phases includes Mn ₃ GaC, C, MnGa ₄ . Expressed in total energy per atom, the formation enthalpy ΔΗ _{ο ρ} at zero pressure is calculated according to AHc _.p . = E _t ot _a i[Mn ₂ GaC] - E _t otai[Mn ₃ GaC, C, MnGa ₄ ] (Eq. 1 )

With a negative ΔΗ _{ο ρ} , a phase is predicted to be stable, i.e. likely to be formed during material synthesis. Correspondingly, for a positive value of ΔΗο.ρ, a phase is predicted to be unstable, i.e. not likely formed during synthesis.

In previous studies, investigating the phase stability of the first magnetic "M _n+ iAX _n "-phases with M= Cr _1-x Mn _x , (x<0.5) A=AI and Ge, and X=C, the calculations reproduced later experimental occurrences of stable

"M _n+ iAX _n "-phases (see A. S. Ingason et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 195502 (2013), A. Mockute et al., Phys. Rev. B 87, 0941 13 (2013) and M. Dahlqvist et al., Phys. Rev. B 84, 220403(R) (2011 )).

Fig. 2 illustrates calculated formation enthalpy ΔΗ of Mn _n+ i ACn and Cr _n+ i ¾C _n with respect to most competitive phases (c.p.), for >4 = Al, Ge and Ga, and n = 1. Most important is the negative formation enthalpy, i.e. stability, shown for Mn ₂ GaC. Mn ₂ AIC and Mn ₂ GeC are, on the other hand, not stable, but a straight line between Mn ₂ GaC and the other two phases indicates that alloying between Ga-AI, and Ga-Ge, will give stable alloys where M=Mn only. That all the Cr-based MAX-phases have negative formation enthalpy indicates that Cr can be successfully used as a M element in combination with Mn.

Fig. 3 is a table over identified sets of most competitive phases (cp) for Mn ₂ GaC, Mn ₂ AIC and Mn ₂ GeC, identified based on procedures presented in Ref. 2 and 3, and exemplified for Mn ₂ GaC in Eq. 1 above. Resulting formation enthalpies are those presented in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 shows results from X-ray diffraction, and a Θ-2Θ scan of the Mn2GaC MAX phase film, demonstrating the excellent global structural quality. The inset shows a pole figure at the (103) peak position (41.89°) displaying the sixfold symmetry of the film. Also seen in the pole figure are traces of the threefold symmetric MgO (200) peak, illustrating the epitaxial relationship between substrate and film.

Fig. 5 shows for the same film (a) low magnification cross sectional STEM image of the film with (b) the Mn, Ga and C elemental maps, (c) is a 1 1-20 zone axis selected area electron diffraction pattern while (d) and (e) are HR(S)TEM images of the structure (rotated). From the combination of XRD and (S)TEM it is evident that we have a new MAX phase with excellent structural quality, of composition M=Mn, A=Ga, and X=C.

Fig. 6 shows the low field magnetization for Mn ₂ GaC measured with

VSM for the temperature T=50 K. A ferromagnetic response is evident through the remanence observed for the in-plane orientation. The

diamagnetic response of the substrate has been subtracted. Inset: The in- plane and out-of-plane magnetic moment at 50 K, including the diamagnetic contribution from the substrate. An in-plane magnetic easy axis is observed.

Further embodiments of the magnetic nanolaminated multielement material will now be discussed.

By corresponding investigations as discussed above, further nanolaminated multielement materials that are stable and magnetic can be found. As will be recognized by the skilled person from the detailed discussion above, the M _n+ iAX _n -phase of such material will typically correspond to a local or global enthalpy minimum (modest temperatures) or a Gibbs free energy minimum (at elevated temperatures) of the material system availible through the involved M, A and X.

It can be realized that many specific embodiments of the

nanolaminated magnetic multielement material may be possible through e.g. various material selection within each of M, A and X. In the following, e.g. possible material selections will be discussed for each of M, A and X. In general, if no information exists on the contrary, the material selections discussed for each one of M A X should be construed as possible to combine with the other of M A X, thereby forming more specific embodiments of the nanolaminated magnetic multielement material.

As already been discussed, M of the nanolaminated magnetic material is one or more different transition metals comprising at least a first transition metal contributing to making the material magnetic, wherein the at least a first transition metal contributing to making the material magnetic constitutes, compared to the total amount of M, more than 90 at.%. A is at least one A- group element selected from the first group consisting of Ga, In, Tl, Sn, Pb, P, As and S and optionally in combination with at least one A-group element selected from the second group consisting of Al, Ge and Si, and X is at least one of C, N, and O.

The at least a first transition metal contributing to making the material magnetic may constitute about 100 at.% of the total amount of M, as discussed in detail above for the Mn ₂ GaC MAX phase.

The one or more different transition metals, M, may consist essentially of the at least a first transition metal contributing to making the material magnetic but may consist also of other elements which by themselves are not magnetic, but which may through interaction with the magnetic elements affect the magnetic properties of the nanolaminated multielement material.

The at least a first transition metal contributing to making the material magnetic may constitute, compared to the total amount of M, more than 90 at.%, or more than or about: 92 at.%, 94 at.%, 96 at.%, 98 at.%, or about 100 at.%.

Alternatively, the at least a first transition metal contributing to making the material magnetic may constitute, compared to the total amount of M, between about 90.5-100 at.%, between about 91-100 at.%, between about 92-100 at.%, between about 94-100 at.%, between about 96-100 at.% or between about 98-100 at%.

The at least a first transition metal contributing to making the material magnetic may as an alternative to Mn alone be Mn in combination with Fe and/or Co and/or Ni, wherein Mn may constitute, compared to the total amount of the at least a first transition metal contributing to making the material magnetic, more than or about 50 at.%, more than or about 60 at%, more than or about 70 at.%, more than or about 80 at.%, more than or about 90 at.%, more than than or about 95 at.%, or more than about 98 at.%.

Possibly at least a second transition metal, M2, possibly contributing to making the material synthesizable, may be added to the material. This second transition metal may constitute, compared to the total amount of M, less than 10 at.%.

The at least a second transition metal may constitute, compared to the total amount of M, less than 10 at.%, or less than about: 8 at.%, or 6 at.%, or 4 at.%, or 2 at%, or about 0 at.%.

In an alternative embodiment the at least a second transition metal may constitute, compared to the total amount of M, between 0-9.5 at.%, between 0-9 at.%, between 0-8 at.%, between 0-6 at.%, between 0-4 at.%, or between 0-2 at.%.

The at least a second transition metal may be at least one of Ti, Sc, V, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta or Cr.

In other embodiments, there may be one or more additional transitional metals in the material, that is, if the at least a first transition metal and a possible second transition metal constitute, compared to the total amount of M, less than 100 at.%. Any additional M-element may in such embodiments contribute to neither magnetism nor to making the material synthesizable, that is, by removing this third transition element a still magnetic and synthesizable nanolaminated multielement would result. Reason to still use such additional transitional metal may be in order to add or enhance some other property that is desirable to be provided by the material.

Embodiments where M comprises M1 M2-combi nations marked with x in Table 1 below are possible. Mn Fe Co Ni

Ti X X X X

Sc X X X X

V X X X X

Zr X X X X

Nb X X X X

Mo X X X X

Hf X X X X

Ta X X X X

Cr X X X X

Table 1- First (M1 ) and second (M2) transition metal combinations

The A-group element may in one embodiment be, compared to the total amount of A, 100 at.% Ga, as discussed in detail above for the Mn ₂ GaC MAX phase.

Alternatively A may consist of one or more A-group elements selected from the first group consisting of Ga, In, TI, Sn, Pb, As and S.

In yet an alternative, A may consist of one or more A-group elements selected from the first group consisting of Ga, In, TI, Sn, Pb, As and S in combination with at least one A-group element selected from the second group consisting of Al, Ge and Si, in which combination the one or more A- group elements selected from the first group consisting of Ga, In, TI, Sn, Pb, As and S may constitute, compared to the total amount of A, more than or about 10 at.%, more than or about 20 at.%, more than or about 30 at.%, more than or about 40 at.%, more than or about 50 at.%, more than or about 60 at.%, more than or about 70 at.%, more than or about 80 at.%, more than or about 90 at.%, more than or about 95 at.%, more than or about 99 at.% or about 99.5 at.%.

In one embodiment A may consist of Ga in combination with Al, in which combination Ga may constitute, compared to the total amount of A, more than or about 10 at.%, more than or about 20 at.%, more than or about 30 at.%, more than or about 40 at.%, more than or about 50 at.%, more than or about 60 at.%, more than or about 70 at.%, more than or about 80 at.%, more than or about 90 at.%, more than or about 95 at.%, more than or about 99 at.% or about 99.5 at.%.

In yet an embodiment A may consist of Ga in combination with Ge, in which combination Ga may constitute, compared to the total amount of A, more than or about 50 at.%, more than or about 60 at.%, more than or about 70 at.%, more than or about 80 at.%, more than or about 90 at.%, more than or about 95 at.%, more than or about 99 at.% or about 99.5 at.%.

"A" elements here mentioned may be combined with the above listed M1 or M1 M2 combinations.

Regarding the X element of the magnetic nanolaminated multielement material, the situation is similar as for conventional "M _n+ iAX _n "-phase materials. That is, X is typically C, or dominated by C, however, in practice sometimes together with traces of some amount O or N which is known to sometimes be hard to fully avoid during synthesis. However, it is also possible with even large, or dominating, amounts of N instead of C. That is, embodiments are possible where X is any one of: C, N, C and O, C and N, N and O, C and N and O.

As recognized from the above, the nanolaminated multielement material of the present disclosure is based on "M _n +iAX _n "-phase material, and can be regarded as such material. "M _n+ AX _n "-phase materials have previously been synthesized as thin films using various methods, and these methods may as well be used for synthesizing the nanolaminated multielement material of the present disclosure. Any magnetic property of the material should not affect the possibility to use any of the known methods.

Synthesizing methods that may be used include for example physical vapor deposition (PVD) methods, such as dc and reactive sputtering, sputtering from compound or elemental targets, cathodic arc deposition from compound or elemental cathodes, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), thermal spraying, atomic layer deposition (ALD), pulsed layer deposition (PLD), and molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). In addition to being deposited as a thin film, the material may be synthesized as bulk material by e.g. applying bulk synthesis methods of "M _n +iAXn"-phase materials, e.g. hot isostatic pressing (HIP), and various sintering methods. Fig. 7 schematically illustrates a thin film 2 comprising a nanolaminated magnetic multielement material 1 according to the present disclosure and as discussed above. The thin film 2 may substantially consist of the

nanolaminated magnetic multielement material 1 , where for example the layered structure of the nanolaminated magnetic multielement material 1 may form sub-layers of the thin film 2. However, as the skilled person will recognize, it is also possible with a thin film 2, which only partially, for example where areas or regions in the thin film 2, comprises or consists of the nanolaminated magnetic multielement material 1 and the rest is another material. Said another material may be a material that is different or similar (in constituents and/or properties), and or a material of the same atomic constituents but at different proportions and/or state. For example, the nanolaminated magnetic multielement material 1 may be present in regions or as nanocrystals in an amorphous matrix. The thin film 2 is shown in Fig. 7 deposited on a substrate 4 which typically is present at least during deposition of the thin film 2. However, after deposition the substrate 4 sometimes serve less of a purpose and may in principle be removed. As mentioned in the foregoing, AI2O ₃ is one material that can be used as material for the substrate 4, other examples include e.g. MgO or TiC. Also other substrate materials, for example as known in the prior art for growth of "M _n +iAX _n "-phase based materials, may be used.

Fig. 8 schematically illustrates a layered stack 5 comprising a first 2 and a second 3 thin film, each comprising a nanolaminated multielement material, at least the first thin film 2 comprising a laminated magnetic multielement material 1b according to the present disclosure and the second thin film 3 comprising a second nanolaminated multielement material described by the formula M i-eA wX p', wherein δ' < 0.25, a'≤ 0.25, and p' ≤ 0.25, A' is at least one A-group element, X' is at least one of C, N, and O, and M' is at least one transition metal. The first thin film 2 may correspond to the thin film 2 discussed above in connection with Fig. 7. The second nanolaminated multielement material may be a non-laminated magnetic multielement material in some embodiments, but may in other embodiments be a magnetic nanolaminaed multielement material although typically having other properties than the laminated magnetic material 1a of the first thin film 2. In other embodiments, there may be a stack 5 comprising additional layer or layers, separating the first and second thin films 2, 3, and/or there may be further layers present, e.g. thin films, comprising nanolaminated multielement material. Also other material layers are possible to combine with in a stack, e.g. layers that are not "M _n+ iAXn"-phase based and/or not nanolaminated. The first and second thin films 2, 3 may be in different order in some embodiments, e.g. the second thin film 3 being deposited first on a substrate.

Furthermore, in some embodiments the second nanolaminated multielement material 1 b may have different magnetic properties than the nanolaminated multielement material 1 a of the first thin film 2. This may e.g. be accomplished by a non-laminated magnetic multielement material, or by a laminated magnetic multielement material. In the latter case, the different magnetic properties may be accomplished by a different M composition (in type or proportion of the M elements, such as M1 ), or by M'-layers of the nanolaminated multielement material 1 b that are different in composition than M-layers of the nanolaminated material 1a, and/or wherein the M-layers and the M'-layers are repeated in different patterns. Such material may have substantially different magnetic properties although the first and second nanolaminated materials may have substantially, or even exactly, the same M composition, or even MA or MAX composition.

Typically it is preferred that the nanolaminated materials of the first and second thin film 2,3 share as many constituents as possible since it is typically beneficial to involve as few materials (elements) as possible during growth. Similarities between the nanolaminated materials of the first and second thin film facilitate growth of different layers of the in the same environment, even in the same equipment and/or using the same or similar process, and the process may even be made continuous. In the case of controlling magnetism by the disorder within M-layers, e.g. target materials and many growth parameters may be the same when growing both the first and second thin film, and only growth parameters affecting disorder may need to be changed, such as temperature and/or the disorder may be manipulated by post-growth techniques, such as annealing. It may be possible to use a thin film and/or stack of the above kind in a giant magnetoresistance (GMR) cell, where e.g. a first magnetic thin film may be one of the magnetic layers and a second thin film a spacer layer, or e.g. be part of a tunnel magentoresistance (TMR) cell, where a first magnetic thin film may be one of magnetic layers and a second thin film an insulating layer.

The abbreviations used for the chemical elements in this disclosure are all well know, each unambiguously corresponding to a chemical element according to C (carbon), N (nitrogen), O (oxygen), Mn (manganese), Fe (iron), Co (cobalt), Ni (nickel), Cr (chromium), Ti (titanium), Sc (scandium), V (vanadium), Zr (zirconium), Nb (niobium), Mo (molybdenum), Hf (hafnium), Ta (tantalum), Al (aluminium), Ga (gallium), Ge (germanium), In (indium), TI (thalium), Sn (tin), Pb (lead), Si (silicon), P (phosphorous), As (arsenic), S (sulfur).