Domain wall resistance in perpendicular (Ga,Mn) As: Dependence on pinning

We have investigated the domain wall resistance for two types of domain walls in a (Ga,Mn)As Hall bar with perpendicular magnetization. A sizeable positive intrinsic DWR is inferred for domain walls that are pinned at an etching step, which is quite consistent with earlier observations. However, much lower intrinsic domain wall resistance is obtained when domain walls are formed by pinning lines in unetched material. This indicates that the spin transport across a domain wall is strongly influenced by the nature of the pinning.

Easy axis reorientation and magneto-crystalline anisotropic resistance of tensile strained (Ga,Mn)As films

We present a study of magnetic anisotropy by using magneto-transport and direct magnetization measurements on tensile strained (Ga,Mn)As films. The magnetic easy axis of the films is in-plane at low temperatures, while the easy axis flips to out-of-plane when temperature is raised or hole concentration is increased. This easy axis reorientation is explained qualitatively in a simple physical picture by Zeners pd model. In addition, the magneto-crystalline anisotropic resistance was also investigated experimentally and theoretically based on the single magnetic domain model. The dependence of sheet resistance on the angle between the magnetic field and [1 0 0] direction was measured. It is found that the magnetization vector M in the single-domain state deviates from the external magnetic field H direction at low magnetic field, while for high magnetic field, M continuously moves following the field direction, which leads to different resistivity function behaviors.

Influence of Si doping on magnetic properties of (Ga,Mn)As

We have systematically investigated the magnetic properties of Si-doped (Ga,Mn)As films. When the Si content is low, both Curie temperature (T-C) and carrier density (p) decrease compared with undoped (Ga,Mn)As, whereas a monotonic increase of T-C and p is observed with further increase in the doping content of Si. We discuss the possible mechanism for the changes obtained by different Si doping contents and attribute the results to a competition between the existence of Si-Ga (Si substitutes for Ga site) that acts as a donor and Si-I (Si interstitials) which is in favor of the improvement of ferromagnetism. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Electronic structure and optical properties of GaN with Mn-doping

Calculations of the electronic structure and the density of states of GaN with Mn are carried out by means of first-principles plane-wave pesudopotential method based on density functional theory. The results reveal a 100% spin polarized impurity band in band structure of Ga1-xMnxN due to hybridization of Mn 3d and N 2p orbitals. The material is half metallic and suited for spin injectors. In addition, a peak of refractive index can be observed near the energy gap. The absorption coefficient increases in the UV region with the increase of the Mn content.

Raman scattering characterization of Mn composition and strain in Ga1-xMnxSb/GaSb epitaxial layers

Raman scattering (RS) experiments have been performed for simultaneous determination of Mn composition and strain in Ga1-xMnxSb thin films grown on GaSb substrate by liquid phase epitaxy technique. The Raman spectra obtained from various Ga1-xMnxSb samples show only GaSb-like phonon modes whose frequency positions are found to have Mn compositional dependence. With the combination of epilayer strain model, RS and energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) experiments, the compositional dependence of GaSb-like LO phonon frequency is proposed both in strained and unstrained conditions. The proposed relationships are used to evaluate Mn composition and strain from the Ga1-xMnxSb samples. The results obtained from the RS data are found to be in good agreement with those determined independently by the EDX analysis. Furthermore, the frequency positions of MnSb-like phonon modes are suggested by reduced-mass model. (C) 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

Structure and magnetic characteristics of nonpolar a-plane GaN : Mn films

Diluted magnetic nonpolar GaN:Mn films have been fabricated by implanting Mn ions into unintentionally doped nonpolar a-plane (1 1 (2) over bar 0) GaN films with a subsequent rapid thermal annealing (RTA) process. The structure, morphology and magnetic characteristics of the samples were investigated by means of high-resolution x-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID), respectively. The XRD analysis shows that the RTA process can effectively recover the crystal deterioration caused by the implantation process and that there is no obvious change in the lattice parameter for the as-annealed sample. The SQUID result indicates that the as-annealed sample shows ferromagnetic properties and magnetic anisotropy at room temperature.

Effects of external magnetic field on the effective g factor of (Ga,Mn)As

With the help of time resolved magneto-optic Kerr rotation measurements, the optically induced spin precession in heavily doped diluted magnetic semiconductor Ga0.937Mn0.063 As was observed. It was found that the effective g factor increases with increasing magnetic field, which is attributed to the magnetic-field-induced increase of the density of the non-localized holes. Those free holes will couple with the localized magnetic ions by p-d interactions, leading to the formation of spontaneous magnetization in Ga0.937Mn0.063As, which in turn to the enhancement of the effective g factor.

Mn-including InAs quantum dots fabricated by Mn implantation

Mn-including InAs quantum dots (QDs) were fabricated by Mn-ion implantation and subsequent annealing. The optical, compositional, and structural properties of the treated samples were analyzed by photoluminescence (PL) and microscopy. Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) results indicate that Mn ions diffused from the bulk GaAs into the InAs QDs during annealing, and the diffusion appears to be driven by the strain in the InAs QDs. The temperature dependence of the PL of Mn-including InAs QD samples exhibits QDs PL characteristics. At the same time, the heavy Mn-including InAs QD samples have ferromagnetic properties and high T-c. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Carrier spin relaxation in (Ga, Mn) As at room temperature

In this paper, the excitation energy density dependence of carrier spin relaxation is studied at room temperature for the as-grown and annealed (Ga, Mn) As samples using femtosecond time-resolved pump-probe Kerr spectroscopy. It is found that spin relaxation lifetime of electrons lengthens with increasing excitation energy density for both samples, and the annealed ( Ga, Mn) As has shorter carrier recombination and electron spin relaxation lifetimes as well as larger Kerr rotation angle than the as-grown ( Ga. Mn) As under the same excitation condition. which shows that DP mechanism is dominant in the spin relaxation process for ( Ga, Mn)As at room temperature. The enhanced ultrafast Kerr effect in the annealed (Ga,Mn)As shows the potential application of the annealed ( Ga, Mn) As in ultrafast all-optical spin switches, and also provides a further evidence for the p-d exchange mechanism of the ferromagnetic origin of (Ga, Mn) As.

Structural characterization of mn implanted AlInN

AlInN/GaN thin films were implanted with Mn ions and subsequently annealed isochronically at 750 and 850 degrees C. X-ray diffraction and Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS) techniques were employed to study the microstructural properties of the implanted/annealed samples. The effect of annealing on implantation-induced strain in thin films has been studied in detail. The strain was found to increase with dose until it reached a saturation value and after that it started decreasing with a further increase in the dose. RBS measurements indicated the atomic diffusion of In, Al, Ga and Mn in implanted samples. The in- and out-diffusion of atoms has been observed after annealing at 750 degrees C and 850 degrees C, respectively. Strong decomposition of the samples took place when annealed at 850 degrees C.

Magnetic coupling properties of mn-doped ZnO nanowires: First-principles calculations

Based on the density functional theory, we study the magnetic coupling properties of Mn-doped ZnO nanowires. For the nanowires with passivated surfaces, the antiferromagnetic state is found and the Mn atoms have a clustering tendency. When the distance between two Mn atoms is large, the system energetically favors the paramagnetic or spin-glass state. For the nanowires with unpassivated surfaces, the ferromagnetic (FM) coupling states appear between the two nearest Mn atoms, and the zinc vacancies can further stabilize the FM states between them. The electrons with enough concentration possibly mediate the FM coupling due to the negative exchange splitting of conduction band minimum induced by the s-d coupling, which could be useful in nanomaterial design for spintronics. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.

Tunneling magnetoresistance in CoFeB/GaAs/(Ga,Mn)As hybrid magnetic tunnel junctions

We reported the all electronic demonstration of spin injection and detection in the trilayers with hybrid structure of CoFeB/GaAs/(Ga,Mn)As (metal/insulator semiconductor) by probing the magnetoresistance at low temperature from 1.8 to 30 K. Tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) ratios of 3.8%, 4.7%, 2.9%, and 1.4% at 1.8, 10, 20, and 30 K, respectively, were observed. Bias dependence of both the junction resistance and TMR ratio was studied systematically. V-half at which TMR drops to half of its maximum is 6.3 mV, being much smaller compared to that observed in (Ga,Mn)As/ZnSe/Fe and (Ga,Mn)As/AlAs/MnAs hybrid structures, indicating lower Fermi energy of (Ga,Mn)As.

Highly anisotropic and electric field tunable Zeeman splittings in Mn-doped CdS nanowires

The electronic structure, Zeeman splitting, and g factor of Mn-doped CdS nanowires are studied using the k center dot p method and the mean field model. It is found that the Zeeman splittings of the hole ground states can be highly anisotropic, and so can their g factors. The hole ground states vary a lot with the radius. For thin wire, g(z) (g factor when B is along the z direction or the wire direction) is a little smaller than g(x). For thick wire, g(z) is mcuh larger than g(x) at small magnetic field, and the anisotropic factor g(z)/g(x) decreases as B increases. A small transverse electric field can change the Zeeman splitting dramatically, so tune the g(x) from nearly 0 to 70, in thick wire. The anisotropic factor decreases rapidly as the electric field increases. On the other hand, the Zeeman splittings of the electron ground states are always isotropic.

Temperature dependence of effective g factor in diluted magnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)As

Time resolved magneto-optic Kerr rotation measurements of optically induced spin quantum beats are performed on heavily doped bulk (Ga,Mn)As diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMS). An effective g-factor of about 0.2-0.3 over a wide range of temperature for both as-grown and annealed (Ga,Mn)As samples is obtained. A larger effective g-factor at lower temperature and an increase of the spin relaxation with increasing in-plane magnetic field are observed and attributed to the stronger p-d exchange interaction between holes and the localized magnetic ion spins, leading to a larger Zeeman splitting and heavy-hole-light-hole mixing. An abnormal dip structure of the g-factor in the vicinity of the Curie temperature suggests that the mean-field model is insufficient to describe the interactions and dynamics of spins in DMS because it neglects the short-range spin correlation effect. (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics.

Room-temperature highly anisotropic ferromagnetism and uniaxial spin amplification in (In,Mn)As quantum dots

The hole-mediated ferromagnetism in (In,Mn)As quantum dots is investigated using the k center dot p method and the mean field model. It is found that the (In,Mn)As quantum dot can be ferromagnetic at room temperature when there is one hole in the dot. For the spherical quantum dots, the Curie temperature decreases as the diameter increases, and increases as the effective composition of magnetic ions increases. It is interesting to find that the (In,Mn)As oblate quantum dot has highly anisotropic Zeeman splitting and ferromagnetism due to the spin-orbit coupling effect, which can be used as an uniaxial spin amplifier. (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics.