Spin-wave resonance as a tool for probing surface anisotropies in ferromagnetic thin films: Application to the study of (Ga,Mn)As

In this paper we provide a concise review of present achievements in the study of spin-wave resonance (SWR) in ferromagnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)As thin films. The theoretical treatment of the experimental SWR data obtained so far concentrates specifically on the spherical surface pinning (SSP) model, in which the surface spin pinning energy is expressed by configuration angles (the out-of-plane polar angle $?$ and the in-plane azimuthal angle $\phi$) defining the direction of surface magnetization in the considered thin film. The model is based on a series expansion of the surface spin pinning energy; the terms in the series represent the respective pinning contributions from the cubic anisotropy as well as uniaxial anisotropies. Comparing theory with the reported experimental studies of SWR in thin films of the ferromagnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)As, we find that besides the first-order cubic anisotropy, higher-order cubic anisotropies (in the second and third orders) as well as uniaxial anisotropies (perpendicular in the first and second orders, and in-plane diagonal) occur on the surface of this material. We use our results to plot a 3D hypersurface visualizing the angle dependence of the surface spin pinning energy in configurational space. An advantage of this spatial representation is that the shape of the obtained hypersurface allows us to predict new SWR effects that have not yet been observed experimentally. Prospective experimental studies for the verification of this surface pinning model would bring new insight into the surface anisotropy phenomenon in (Ga,Mn)As thin films and help complete the knowledge in this field, the shortage of which in the literature available to date is becoming bothersome.     

Photoemission study of Gd metal overlayers on a GaAs(110) surface

We have studied the chemical reactions of Gd metal on an in situ cleaved GaAs(110) surface by photoemission spectroscopy of Ga 3d and As 3d core-levels as well as the Gd 4f level on- and off-resonance valence band using synchrotron radiation. We find that the Fermi-level pinning is completed before 0.13 ML coverage, and the deposited Gd atoms start to react with the GaAs substrate at a very low coverage (critical coverage < 0.067 ML). As more Gd atoms are deposited, they form stable compounds with As atoms which are then trapped in the relatively narrow interfacial layer of thickness less than about 3.3 ML, while Ga atoms diffuse out towards the surface and eventually become metallic. The thickness of the GdGa intermixed layers is estimated to be about 6.7 ML, which is somewhat greater than that for a interface.     

Yb/GaAs (110): The pinning behavior of the rare earth GaAs interface

The effect of the room temperature interaction of an increasing coverage of the rare earth metal, Yb, on the Fermi level pinning behavior of n-GaAs (110) has been studied in detail. Soft X-ray photoemission spectroscopy was used to obtain information on the variation of the Fermi level position in the band gap via photoelectron emission from the As 3d and Ga 3d core level states. Both As and Ga interact with the overlayer to such a degree that we have used two independent methodologies to obtain a reliable estimate of the Schottky barrier height. The established limits for the barrier height are 0.61–0.72 eV. The results of this study show that the pinning position of the Fermi level is established well before the interface constituents are fully reacted and is stable for higher overlayer coverages. The Schottky barrier height is consistent with the low electronegativity of the rare earth metals.     

Ab initio study of deep defect states in narrow band-gap semiconductors: group III impurities in PbTe

The nature of deep defect states, in general, and those associated with group III elements (Ga, In, Tl) in narrow band-gap IV-VI semiconductors (PbTe and PbSe), in particular, have been of great interest over the past three decades. We present ab initio electronic structure calculations that give a new picture of these states compared to the currently accepted model in terms of a negative-U Hubbard model. The Fermi surface pinning and why In-doped PbTe and related compounds show excellent high temperature thermoelectric behavior can be understood within the new picture.     

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.     

Domain-wall pinning by local control of anisotropy in Pt/Co/Pt strips

We theoretically and experimentally analyze the pinning of a magnetic domain wall (DW) at engineered anisotropy variations in Pt/Co/Pt strips with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. An analytical model is derived showing that a step in the anisotropy acts as an energy barrier for the DW. Quantitative measurements are performed showing that the anisotropy can be controlled by focused ion beam irradiation with Ga ions. This tool is used to experimentally study the field-induced switching of nanostrips which are locally irradiated. The boundary of the irradiated area indeed acts as a pinning barrier for the domain wall and the pinning strength increases with the anisotropy difference. Varying the thickness of the Co layer provides an additional way to tune the anisotropy, and it is shown that a thinner Co layer gives a higher starting anisotropy thereby allowing tunable DW pinning in a wider range of fields. Finally, we demonstrate that not only the anisotropy itself, but also the width of the anisotropy barrier can be tuned on the length scale of the domain wall.     

Measurements of nanoscale domain wall flexing in a ferromagnetic thin film

We use the high spatial sensitivity of the anomalous Hall effect in the ferromagnetic semiconductor Ga(1-x)Mn(x)As, combined with the magneto-optical Kerr effect, to probe the nanoscale elastic flexing behavior of a single magnetic domain wall in a ferromagnetic thin film. Our technique allows position sensitive characterization of the pinning site density, which we estimate to be ～10(14) cm(-3). Analysis of single site depinning events and their temperature dependence yields estimates of pinning site forces (10 pN range) as well as the thermal deactivation energy. Our data provide evidence for a much higher intrinsic domain wall mobility for flexing than previously observed in optically probed μm scale measurements.     

Interpretation of apparent chemical shifts in XP spectra from oxide—GaP interfaces

The cause of the apparent chemical shifts (ACS's) of XPS peaks between oxide and substrate GaP has been studied. The ACS's for Ga 3d, P 2p and GaLMM change significantly depending on the conditions of oxidation. The changes in the ACS's are considered in terms of not only the chemical structure of the oxide, but also other possible causes, such as charging effects, electric dipole moment, extra-atomic relaxation energy, Fermi-level pinning position, etc. The change of the Fermi-level position at the surface of substrate GaP is revealed to be a dominant factor causing the changes in the ACS's.     

Structural and electronic properties of group III Rich In0.53Ga0.47As(001)

The structural and electronic properties of group III rich In_0.53Ga_0.47As(001) have been studied using scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS). At room temperature (300 K), STM images show that the In_0.53Ga_0.47As(001)–(4 × 2) reconstruction is comprised of undimerized In/Ga atoms in the top layer. Quantitative comparison of the In_0.53Ga_0.47As(001)–(4 × 2) and InAs(001)–(4 × 2) shows the reconstructions are almost identical, but In_0.53Ga_0.47As(001)–(4 × 2) has at least a 4× higher surface defect density even on the best samples. At low temperature (77 K), STM images show that the most probable In_0.53Ga_0.47As(001) reconstruction is comprised of one In/Ga dimer and two undimerized In/Ga atoms in the top layer in a double (4 × 2) unit cell. Density functional theory (DFT) simulations at elevated temperature are consistent with the experimentally observed 300 K structure being a thermal superposition of three structures. DFT molecular dynamics (MD) show the row dimer formation and breaking is facilitated by the very large motions of tricoodinated row edge As atoms and z motion of In/Ga row atoms induced changes in As–In/Ga–As bond angles at elevated temperature. STS results show there is a surface dipole or the pinning states near the valence band (VB) for 300 K In_0.53Ga_0.47As(001)–(4 × 2) surface consistent with DFT calculations. DFT calculations of the band-decomposed charge density indicate that the strained unbuckled trough dimers being responsible for the surface pinning.     

A comparative analysis of the mechanisms of pinning of a domain wall in a nanowire

A comparative analysis of the influence of random fluctuations of the crystallographic anisotropy and surface roughnesses on the pinning of a domain wall in a nanowire has been performed in the framework of the model of a polycrystalline nanowire. The initial magnetization curve and the coercive force for these mechanisms of pinning have been calculated. A criterion has been formulated according to which surface inhomogeneities of the nanowire play the key role in the process of pinning of a domain wall. The analytical results obtained have been verified using computer simulation.     

Surface Morphology Improvement of Non-Polar a-Plane Ga N Using a Low-Temperature GaN Insertion Layer

We demonstrate that a low-temperature Ga N insertion layer could significantly improve the surface morphology of non-polar a-plane Ga N.The two key factors in improving the surface morphology of non-polar a-plane Ga N are growth temperature and growth time of the Ga N insertion layer. The root-mean-square roughness of a-plane Ga N is reduced by 75% compared to the sample without the Ga N insertion layer. Meanwhile, the Ga N insertion layer is also beneficial for improving crystal quality. This work provides a simple and effective method to improve the surface morphology of non-polar a-plane Ga N.     

Photoinduced Barkhausen effect in the ferromagnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)As

Magnetization of ferromagnetic materials commonly occurs via random jumps of domain walls between pinning sites, a phenomenon known as the Barkhausen effect. Using strongly focused light pulses of appropriate power and duration we demonstrate the ability to selectively activate single jumps in the domain wall propagation in (Ga,Mn)As, manifesting itself as a discrete photoinduced domain wall creep as a function of illumination time. The propagation velocity can be increased over 7 orders of magnitude varying the illumination power density and the magnetic field.     

Spin-wave resonance in a tangentially magnetized thin film

The imaginary part of the magnetic susceptibility determining the position, amplitude, and width of damped bulk and surface spin-wave eigenmodes in the spin system of a thin film magnetized in the film plane along the uniaxial bulk and surface anisotropy axis is analyzed numerically for various values of the degree of surface spin pinning. The presence of damping and the finiteness and asymmetry of the degree of surface spin pinning are shown to cause significant changes in the spin-wave resonance spectrum.     

Defect-induced dimer pinning on the Si(0 0 1) surface

Room-temperature STM images frequently show regions of antisymmetric dimer ordering surrounding certain types of defect on the Si(0 0 1) surface. While it has been generally believed that any defect asymmetric with respect to the dimer row would induce this dimer pinning effect, recent experimental results have shown that this is not the case. We present a model, based on a nearest-neighbour Ising treatment of the surface, which allows the extent of pinning caused by a dimer to be predicted from ab initio calculations. We use this model to predict the pinning extent for three phosphorus-containing structures important in a proposed silicon-based quantum computer fabrication scheme, and identify one of these asymmetric features as causing no appreciable pinning. In addition, we use ab initio calculations to identify the effects governing the interaction between neighbouring dimers.     

Influence of the pinning of Abrikosov vortices on the propagation of surface magnetostatic waves in a ferromagnet-superconductor structure

The influence of surface-layer vortex pinning in a type-II superconductor on the propagation of surface magnetostatic waves in a ferromagnet-superconductor structure is analyzed. The pinning is assumed to be strong enough to prevent vortex displacement under the influence of the Lorentz force generated by the surface magnetostatic waves, so that the ground state of the superconductor is determined by the elastic properties of the vortex lattice and by pinning. In the given model the problem reduces to the analysis of the wave spectrum in the scattered field created by the disordered vortex surface layer. A calculation shows that the influence of this field on the surface magnetostatic-wave spectrum is slight and, hence, degradation of the shielding properties of the superconductor does not take place in the presence of strong vortex pinning (as opposed to the ferromagnet-ideal superconductor structure). Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 40, 32–35 (January 1998)     

Migration characterization of Ga and In adatoms on dielectric surface in selective MOVPE

Migration characterizations of Ga and In adatoms on the dielectric surface in selective metal organic vapor phase epitaxy(MOVPE) were investigated. In the typical MOVPE environment, the selectivity of growth is preserved for Ga N,and the growth rate of Ga N micro-pyramids is sensitive to the period of the patterned SiO2 mask. A surface migration induced model was adopted to figure out the effective migration length of Ga adatoms on the dielectric surface. Different from the growth of Ga N, the selective area growth of In Ga N on the patterned template would induce the deposition of In Ga N polycrystalline particles on the patterned SiO2 mask with a long period. It was demonstrated with a scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive spectroscopy that the In adatoms exhibit a shorter migration length on the dielectric surface.     

Surface versus bulk pinning in a HgBa2Ca2Cu3O8+x ceramics

Flux creep measurements on a HgBa₂Ca₂Cu₃O_8+x ceramics are reported. The results of the magnetic relaxation measurements are analyzed both by assuming that the pinning is due to the existence of a surface barrier or exclusively caused by bulk pinning. The action of both the surface and the bulk barriers is evidenced. At 70 K, a very high critical current density of the surface currents is determined, which is higher than the critical current density of the bulk. The field and temperature dependence of the pinning behaviour reflects mainly bulk pinning in 2D. The measurements were repeated after 4 and 12 months to investigate the influence of aging. A destruction of the superconducting properties of the grain boundaries accompanied by a degradation of the surfaces of the grains with time is proved.     

From weak to strong pinning I: A finite size study

We have used linear stability analysis to study the depinning of an elastic chain with long range interactions submitted to a random pinning potential. In this paper, we provide, for the first time, evidence of a pronounced change from a strong pinning regime to a weak pinning regime. This change depends on the strength of disorder, and takes place only in finite size systems. For a given disorder, we show a characteristic length separating the weak pinning regime from the strong pinning regime. This length depends on the long range of the algebraic decay of the elastic couplings. The weak pinning regime is very well described by perturbation theory. As an example, we discuss more specifically the case of wetting of heterogeneous surfaces, where the change from a strong to a weak pinning regime could be induced in the wetting front by varying the surface tension of the liquid-air interface.Received: 12 September 2003, Published online: 20 April 2004PACS: 05.10.-a Computational methods in statistical physics and nonlinear dynamics - 68.08.Bc Wetting - 02.50.Fz Stochastic analysis     

非理想第二类超导体局域磁弛豫的计算模拟：非均匀钉扎势和表面势垒影响

从热激活模型出发,对非理想第二类超导的局域磁行为进行了计算模拟.讨论了超导体体内非均匀钉扎势和表面势垒对局域磁通运动的影响.计算结果表明,体内非均匀钉扎势对磁通线的运动产生大的阻碍,表面势垒明显抑制了磁通线的进入和离开样品.相对于样品的平均磁弛豫行为和平均磁滞回线,非均匀钉扎以及扫场速率的差异更强地显示在样品的局域磁行为. 关键词： 非理想第二类超导体 局域磁弛豫 非均匀钉扎 表面势叠     

A review of recent theoretical and computational studies on pinned surface nanobubbles

The observations of long-lived surface nanobubbles in various experiments have presented a theoretical challenge, as they were supposed to be dissolved in microseconds owing to the high Laplace pressure. However, an increasing number of studies suggest that contact line pinning, together with certain levels of oversaturation, is responsible for the anomalous stability of surface nanobubbles. This mechanism can interpret most characteristics of surface nanobubbles. Here, we summarize recent theoretical and computational work to explain how the surface nanobubbles become stable with contact line pinning. Other related work devoted to understanding the unusual behaviors of pinned surface nanobubbles is also reviewed here.