Critical fields and spin polarized tunneling measurements of very thin V3Ga films

The critical fields of V3Ga thin films have been measured with the field applied both perpendicular and parallel to the film surface. A transition from three to two dimensional behavior is noted as a function of thickness. Spin polarized tunneling measurements are presented for junctions fabricated with Al2O3barriers and Fe counter electrodes onto 10 nm thick films of V3Ga. Unexpectedly low values for the spin-orbit scattering rate and effective g-factor are inferred from the tunneling measurements. This result is consistent with critical field measurements.