Magnetic and magnetotransport properties of erbium silicide epitaxial films

Hexagonal ${\mathrm{Er}}_3$ ${\mathrm{Si}}_5$ films epitaxially grown on Si show strong anisotropies in magnetization and magnetotransport below the ordering temperature. The magnetoresistance has a cusplike positive anomaly or is negative and featureless for a magnetic field applied, respectively, along or perpendicular to the [0001] axis. A noncollinear structure, composed of an antiferromagnetic and a ferromagnetic component accounts for the magnetization data. The latter used in conjunction with the Yamada-Takada theory of magnetotransport accounts for the magnetoresistance data.