Effect of thermal annealing of high temperature growth [(GaAs)m(Fe)n]p composite films on GaAs(001) by molecular beam epitaxy

[(GaAs) _m (Fe) _n ] _p composite films on GaAs(001) substrates obtained by molecular beam deposition methods at T _s = 580°C have been thermally annealed, and magnetic/structural changes caused by the annealing have been measured to study the relation between room-temperature photo-magnetic effect and by-products in composite films. Annealing inhomogeneous [(GaAs)₈(Fe)₅]₂₀ film, prepared by alternate beam deposition of Fe and GaAs, results in an increase in saturation magnetization, whereas the room-temperature photo-enhanced magnetization (RT-PEM) vanishes. Metamagnetic Fe₃Ga₄ is suppressed with the formation of ferromagnetic Fe₃Ga_2−x As _x . Observed results suggest two important points: firstly, metamagnetic Fe₃Ga₄ compound is most likely meta-stable bi-product and may play a principle role for RT-PEM, and secondly, ferromagnetic Fe₃GaAs and its derivatives are the stable form in Ga-As-Fe ternary system.