Effect of cobalt on the magnetoresistance characteristics of rare-earth doped manganites

The effect of cobalt-doping on the magnetic, transport and magnetoresistance characteristics of La_1-xSr_xMnO₃ was investigated. The results show that the magnetoelectric property of rare-earth doped manganites is greatly affected by substitution of Co for Mn sites. The Curie temperature as well as the magnetic moment decreases with the increase of doping concentration, and the samples exhibit obvious characteristics of the spin glass state. Moreover, the magnetoresistance is evidently modulated by doping concentration, and the relevant temperature dependence is also suppressed. In addition, low-temperature magnetoresistance is significantly promoted as doping concentration increases, which renders a value of approximately 50% in the temperature range of 5--200~K and varies within 12.5%. It can be attributed to the effect of spin scattering, induced by cobalt doping, on the itinerant electrons of Mn ions, thus introducing a spin-disorder region into the ferromagnetic region of double-exchange interaction between neighbouring Mn³⁺ and Mn ³⁺ ions.     

Universal spin-dependent variable range hopping in wide-band-gap oxide ferromagnetic semiconductors

This paper proposes a universal spin-dependent variable range hopping theoretical model to describe various experimental transport phenomena observed in wide-band-gap oxide ferromagnetic semiconductors with high transition metal concentration. The contributions of the `hard gap' energy, Coulomb interaction, correlation energy, and exchange interaction to the electrical transport are considered in the universal variable range hopping theoretical model. By fitting the temperature and magnetic field dependence of the experimental sheet resistance to the theoretical model, the spin polarization ratio of electrical carriers near the Fermi level and interactions between electrical carriers can be obtained.     

Tunable interface anisotropy in a Pt/C01-xFex/Pt multilayer

Interfacial magnetic anisotropy in a Pt/CO1-xFex/Pt multilayer is tuned by doping iron atoms into the cobalt layer. The perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and out-of-plane coercivity are found to decrease with increasing x. For a specific x, the out-of-plane coercivity acquires a maximal value as a function of the thickness of the CoFe layer. At low temperature, the coercivity is enhanced. Small coercivity but reasonably large perpendicular magnetic anisotropy can be obtained by controlling the x and CoFe layer thickness.     

MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF Pr2Co17-x Mx ( M＝Ga,Si) COMPOUNDS

The influence of Ga or Si substitution for Co on the structural and magnetic properties of Pr₂Co₁₇ compounds is investigated. All samples studied here are single phase and have the rhombohedral Th₂Zn₁₇-type structure. The unit-cell volume is found to increase linearly by the substitution of Ga for Co,but reduce by the substitution of Si for Co in Pr₂Co₁₇ compounds. In Pr₂Co_17-x M_x, the Curie temperature decreases monoto nically with increasing at an approximate rate of 153K per Ga atom and 175K per Si atom. The saturation magnetic moment of Pr₂Co_17-x M_x ( M=Ga,Si) decreases with increasing x. The rates of the decrease are larger than that expected as a simple dilution. For Pr₂Co_17-xSi_x ,the spin reorientation transition is observed above room temperature. The spin-reorientation temperature Tsrfirst decreases with increasing Si content and then increases at higher x values (x>2). The spin reorientat ion behavior is interpreted by the competition between the Pr and Co sublattice anisotropies. The easy magnetization direction in Pr₂Co_17-xGa_x compounds is perpendicular to the c-axis, and no spin reorientation transition is observed.     

Enhancement of ferromagnetism in polycrystalline Si0.965Mn0.035:B films by boron plasma treatment

This paper reports that the polycrystalline Si0.965Mn0.035:B films have been prepared by cosputtering deposition followed by rapid thermal annealing for crystallization. The polycrystalline thin films consist of two ferromagnetic phases. The low temperature ferromagnetic phase with Curie temperature (Tc) of about 50 K is due to the Mn4Si7 phase in the films, while the high temperature one (Tc～250 K) is resulted from the incorporation of Mn into silicon. The films are treated by boron plasma excited with the approach of microwave plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition for 40 minutes. After plasma treatment, it is observed that no extra magnetic phases or magnetic complexes exist in the films, while both the high temperature saturation magnetization and the hole concentration in the films increase. The obvious correlation between the magnetic properties and the electrical properties of the polycrystalline Si0.965Mn0.035:B films suggests that the hole carriers play an important role in Si:Mn diluted magnetic semiconductors.     

Thermodynamic behaviour of Rashba quantum dot in the presence of magnetic field

The thermodynamic properties of an In Sb quantum dot have been investigated in the presence of Rashba spin–orbit interaction and a static magnetic field. The energy spectrum and wave-functions for the system are obtained by solving the Schrodinger wave-equation analytically. These energy levels are employed to calculate the specific heat, entropy,magnetization and susceptibility of the quantum dot system using canonical formalism. It is observed that the system is susceptible to maximum heat absorption at a particular value of magnetic field which depends on the Rashba coupling parameter as well as the temperature. The variation of specific heat shows a Schottky-like anomaly in the low temperature limit and rapidly converges to the value of 2kB with the further increase in temperature. The entropy of the quantum dot is found to be inversely proportional to the magnetic field but has a direct variation with temperature. The substantial effect of Rashba spin–orbit interaction on the magnetic properties of quantum dot is observed at low values of magnetic field and temperature.     

EFFECT OF THE SUBSTITUTION OF Ga ON THE STRUCTURE AND MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF Dy2Fe17 COMPOUND

Dy₂Fe_17-xGa_x (x = 0,1,2,3,4, 5 and 6) compounds were prepared by arc melting. These compounds are of single phase, having a hexagonal Th₂Ni₁₇-type structure fox x=0 and rhombohedral Th₂Zn₁₇-type structure for x≥1. The substitution of Ga for Fe in the Dy₂Fe₁₇ leads to a linear increase of unit-cell volumes. The saturation magnetization M_s at 1.5K is found to decrease linearly with increasing Ga concentration, from 65emu/g for x= 0 to 5emu/g for x = 6; and the Fe magnetic moment μ_Fe is almost independent of Ga concentration. The Curie temperature T_C is found first to increase with increasing Ga content x, and goes through a maximum value of 559 K at about x = 3, then decreases. The sharp increase of T_C at lower Ga content may result from the increase of unit cell volumes. Dy₂Fe_17-xGa_x compounds with x≤5 exhibit easy plane anisotropy at room temperature, and those with x = 6 possess easy-axis.     

STRUCTURE, MAGNETIC PROPERTIES AND GIANT MAGNETORESISTANCE OF YMn6Sn6-xGax (x=0-0.6) COMPOUNDS

Structure, magnetic and transport properties of YMn₆Sn_6-xGa_x (0≤x≤0.6) compounds with a HfFe₆Ge₆-type structure were investigated. It was found that the Ga substitution leads to a contraction of the unit-cell volume. A transition from an antiferromagnetic to a ferromagnetic (or ferrimagnetic) state can be observed for samples (0.1≤x≤0.2) with increasing temperature. The antiferro-ferromagnetic transition for samples with x≤0.2 can also be induced by an external field. The required field is very low, and decreases with increasing Ga concentration. More Ga concentration (x≥0.3) leads to the samples being ferromagnetic in the whole temperature range below the Curie temperature. The Ga substitution weakens the interlayer magnetic coupling between the Mn spins. Corresponding to the metamagnetic transition, a magnetoresistance as large as 32% under a field of 5 T was observed at 5 K for the sample with x=0.2.     

Generating and reversing spin accumulation by temperature gradient in a quantum dot attached to ferromagnetic leads

We propose to generate and reverse the spin accumulation in a quantum dot (QD) by using the temperature difference between the two ferromagnetic leads connected to the dot. The electrons are driven purely by the temperature gradient in the absence of an electric bias and a magnetic field. In the Coulomb blockade regime, we find two ways to reverse the spin accumulation. One is by adjusting the QD energy level with a fixed temperature gradient, and the other is by reversing the temperature gradient direction for a fixed value of the dot level. The spin accumulation in the QD can be enhanced by the magnitudes of both the leads’ spin polarization and the asymmetry of the dot-lead coupling strengths. The present device is quite simple, and the obtained results may have practical usage in spintronics or quantum information processing.     

Determining the sign of g factor via time-resolved Kerr rotation spectroscopy with a rotatable magnetic field

Time-resolved Kerr rotation spectroscopy is used to determine the sign of the g factor of carriers in a semiconductor material,with the help of a rotatable magnetic field in the plane of the sample.The spin precession signal of carriers at a fixed time delay is measured as a function of the orientation of the magnetic field with a fixed strength B.The signal has a sine-like form and its phase determines the sign of the g factor of carriers.As a natural extension of previous methods to measure the (time-resolved) photoluminescence or time-resolved Kerr rotation signal as a function of the magnetic field strength with a fixed orientation,such a method gives the correct sign of the g factor of electrons in GaAs.Furthermore,the sign of carriers in a (Ga,Mn)As magnetic semiconductor is also found to be negative.     

Prediction of enhanced ferromagnetism in (Ga,Mn)As by intrinsic defect manipulation

In the diluted magnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)As the excess of As incorporated as As antisites (As_Ga) is responsible for the hole compensation. The As_Ga defect can be transformed into a As interstitial–Ga vacancy pair (As_i–V_Ga) upon illumination. In this paper we study the effects of such a transition on the ferromagnetism of (Ga,Mn)As using density functional theory within the local spin density approximation. We find that the ferromagnetic order in (Ga,Mn)As is strongly enhanced if As_Ga are transformed into As_i–V_Ga pairs, since the hole compensation is reduced. This suggests a valuable way to tune the carrier concentration and hence the T_c in (Ga,Mn)As, without changing the Mn concentration nor the microscopic configuration of the Mn ions.     

Diluted magnetic semiconductors and spintronics

Classification of concentrated and diluted magnetic semiconductors is given and their physicochemical properties that are interesting for spintronics are characterized. The electronic structure of magnetic impurities in semiconductors and the nature of indirect exchange interactions between impurity spins in diluted magnetic semiconductors are considered. On the basis of the proposed theory of kinematic exchange, the Curie temperature T _C for bulk diluted magnetic semiconductors (In,Mn)Sb are estimated.     

Exchange Interactions and Curie Temperatures in Dilute Magnetic Semiconductors

We discuss the origin of ferromagnetism in dilute magnetic semiconductors based on ab initio calculations for Mn-doped GaN, GaP, GaAs and GaSb. We use the Korringa–Kohn–Rostoker method in connection with the coherent potential approximation to describe the substitutional and moment disorder. Curie temperatures (T _C) are calculated from first-principles by using a mapping on a Heisenberg model in a mean field approximation. It is found that if impurity bands are formed in the gap, as it is the case for (Ga, Mn)N, double exchange dominates leading to a characteristic √c dependence of T _C as a function of the Mn concentration c. On the other hand, if the d-states are localized, as in (Ga, Mn)Sb, Zener's p–d exchange prevails resulting in a linear c-dependence of T _C. In order to have more precise estimations of T _C, effective exchange coupling constants J _ij 's are calculated by using the formula of Liechtenstein et al. It is found that the range of the exchange interaction in (Ga, Mn)N is very short. On the other hand, in (Ga, Mn)As the interaction is weaker but long ranged. Monte Carlo simulations show that the T _C values of (Ga, Mn)N are very low since percolation is difficult to achieve for small concentrations and the mean field approximation strongly overestimates T _C. Even in (Ga, Mn)As the percolation effect is still important.     

Effects of disorder on the Curie temperature of GaMnN, GaCrN, InCrN, and InMnN diluted magnetic semiconductors

The critical Curie temperatures of ordered and disordered diluted magnetic semiconductors based on GaN, InN, CrN, and MnN compounds are investigated using the classical Heisenberg model within the mean field approximation. The equilibrium structural lattice parameters of all the structures investigated are obtained from first principles. We show that the Curie T_c temperatures of disordered GaN and InN doped with small concentrations of Mn and Cr depends, to a great extent, on the Mn and Cr concentrations. Our calculations on these systems show that a T_c above room-temperature can be observed in these systems and it is affected greatly by the degree of disorder of Mn and Cr randomly distributed on the Ga and In sites. In addition, the ferromagnetic stability in these diluted magnetic semiconductors is studied systematically. Our results indicate that 3d Mn and Cr impurity states in GaN and InN favor the ferromagnetic state rather than the spin-glass phase.     

稀磁半导体的研究进展

本文主要介绍了III-V族稀磁半导体(Ga,Mn)As的研究进展,包括(Ga,Mn)As的生长制备、基本磁性质、磁输运特征、磁光性质、磁性起源、相关的异质结构和自旋注入等,同时还简单介绍了其它稀磁半导体如IV族、III-VI族和IV-VI族等稀磁半导体的研究进展,在文章的最后描述了理想的稀磁半导体应该具备的特征以及对未来的展望。     

稀磁半导体的研究进展

本文主要介绍了III-V族稀磁半导体(Ga,Mn)As的研究进展,包括(Ga,Mn)As的生长制备、基本磁性质、磁输运特征、磁光性质、磁性起源、相关的异质结构和自旋注入等,同时还简单介绍了其它稀磁半导体如IV族、III-VI族和IV-VI族等稀磁半导体的研究进展,在文章的最后描述了理想的稀磁半导体应该具备的特征以及对未来的展望。     

Magnetic properties of p-doped GaMnN diluted magnetic semiconductors containing clusters

Magnetic properties of p-doped GaMnN diluted magnetic semiconductors, having both randomly distributed Mn ions and Mn_xN_y clusters, are presented under the theory based on the hole-mediated ferromagnetism. The critical temperature of the second order phase transition between ferromagnetic and paramagnetic phases and the magnetization as a function of temperature are obtained from the free energy calculation. The Curie temperature of the p-doped GaMnN containing clusters depends not on the type of clusters but on the composition rate of clusters. The behavior of the spontaneous magnetization as a function of temperature is strongly affected by carrier concentration. The p-doped GaMnN diluted magnetic semiconductors containing clusters have room temperature ferromagnetism regardless of the magnetic type of clusters, as long as hole-mediated spin-spin interactions occur in them.     

Ferromagnetism in epitaxial layers of gallium and indium antimonides and indium arsenide supersaturated by manganese impurity

We report on laser synthesis of thin 30–200 nm epitaxial layers with mosaic structure of diluted magnetic semiconductors GaSb:Mn and InSb:Mn with the Curie temperature T_C above 500 K and of InAs:Mn with T_C no less than 77 K. The concentration of Mn was ranged from 0.02 to 0.15. In the case of InSb:Mn and InAs:Mn films, the additional pulse laser annealing was needed to achieve ferromagnetic behavior. We used Kerr and Hall effects methods as well as ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) spectroscopy to study magnetic properties of the samples. The anisotropy FMR was observed for both layers of GaSb:Mn and InSb:Mn up to 500 K but it takes place with different temperature dependencies of absorption spectra peaks. The resonance field value and amplitude of FMR signal on the temperature is monotonically decreased with the temperature increase for InSb:Mn. In the case of GaSb:Mn, this dependence is not monotonic.     

Computational materials design of filled tetrahedral compound magnetic semiconductors

Based on first-principles calculations within the density functional theory, materials design of filled tetrahedral compound magnetic semiconductors is proposed. By using the Korringa–Kohn–Rostoker coherent potential approximation, electronic structures of Mn-doped LiZnAs, LiZnP and LiZnN are calculated. First, by estimating free energy, phase diagrams of these systems are predicted. It is shown that these systems are phase separating systems and favor spinodal decomposition. However, by introducing Li vacancies, spinodal decomposition is strongly suppressed and Mn can be doped up to high concentration. Moreover, the introduced Li vacancies induce ferromagnetic interaction between Mn and thus we can expect high Curie temperature (T_C) in these systems. To see the chemical trend, electronic structure and T_C of Li(Zn, Cr)As are also calculated.     

Reorientation,multidomain states and domain walls in diluted magnetic semiconductors

The competition between surface/interface and intrinsic anisotropies yields a number of specific reorientation effects and strongly influences magnetization processes in diluted magnetic semiconductors as (Ga,Mn)As and (In,Mn)As. We develop a phenomenological theory to describe reorientation transitions and the accompanying multidomain states applicable to layers of these magnetic semiconductors. It is shown that the magnetic phase diagrams of such systems include a region of four-phase domain structure with four adjoining areas of two-phase domains as well as several regions with coexisting metastable states. We demonstrate that the parameters of isolated domain walls in (Ga,Mn)As nanolayers are extremely sensitive to applied magnetic field and can vary in a broad range. This can be used in microdevices of magnetic semiconductors with pinned domain walls. For (Ga,Mn)As epilayers with perpendicular anisotropy the geometrical parameters of domains have been calculated.