Origin of the tunnel anisotropic magnetoresistance in Ga(1-x)Mn(x)As/ZnSe/Ga(1-x)Mn(x)As magnetic tunnel junctions of II-VI/III-V heterostructures

We investigated spin-dependent transport in magnetic tunnel junctions made of III-V Ga(1-x)Mn(x)As electrodes and II-VI ZnSe tunnel barriers. The high tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) ratio up to 100% we observed indicates high spin polarization at the barrier/electrodes interfaces. We found anisotropic tunneling conductance having a magnitude of 10% with respect to the direction of magnetization to linearly depend on the magnetic anisotropy energy of Ga(1-x)Mn(x)As. This proves that the spin-orbit interactions in the valence band of Ga(1-x)M(x)As are responsible for the tunnel anisotropic magnetoresistance (TAMR) effect.     

Mn distribution and spin polarization in Ga(1-x)Mn x As

Using the density functional full-potential linearized augmented plane wave approach, the x-ray absorption and magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) spectra of Ga(1-x)Mn x As are calculated. Significantly, XMCD of Mn is highly sensitive to the change in environment, and thus can be utilized to characterize impurity distribution. The nature of Mn-induced spin polarization on Ga and As sites, vital for the carrier mediated magnetic ordering, is discussed in light of computational and experimental results.     

Element resolved spin configuration in ferromagnetic manganese-doped gallium arsenide

We report induced Ga and As moments in ferromagnetic Ga(1-x)MnxAs detected using x-ray magnetic circular dichroism at the Mn, Ga, and As L(3,2) edges. Across a broad composition range, we find As and Ga dichroism signals which indicate an As 4s moment coupled antiparallel to the Mn 3d moment, and a smaller parallel Ga 4s moment. The Ga moment follows that of Mn in both doping and temperature dependence. These results are consistent with recent predictions of induced GaAs host moments and support the model of carrier-mediated ferromagnetic ordering involving As-derived valence band states.     

Defect-induced magnetic structure in (Ga(1)-(x)Mn(x))As

We show that magnetic structures involving partial disorder of local magnetic moments on the Mn atoms in (Ga(1)-(x)Mn(x))As lower the total energy, compared to the case of perfect ferromagnetic ordering, when As defects on the Ga sublattice are present. Such magnetic structures are found to be stable for a range of concentrations of As antisites, and this result accounts for the observed magnetic moments and critical temperatures in (Ga(1)-(x)Mn(x))As. We propose an explanation for the stabilization of the partially disordered magnetic structures and conclude that the magnetization and critical temperatures should increase substantially by reducing the number of As antisite defects.     

Ga sublattice defects in (Ga,Mn)As: thermodynamical and kinetic trends

We have used positron annihilation spectroscopy and infrared absorption measurements to study the Ga sublattice defects in epitaxial Ga(1-x)MnxAs with Mn content varying from 0% to 5%. We show that the Ga vacancy concentration decreases and As antisite concentration increases with increasing Mn content. This is in agreement with thermodynamical considerations for the electronic part of the formation energy of the Ga sublattice point defects. However, the absolute defect concentrations imply that they are determined rather by the growth kinetics than by the thermodynamical equilibrium. The As antisite concentrations in the samples are large enough to be important for compensation and magnetic properites. In addition, the Ga vacancies are likely to be involved in the diffusion and clustering of Mn at low annealing temperatures.     

Possible quantum critical point in La(2/3)Ca(1/3)Mn(1-x)Ga x O3

We study the magnetic ground state in La(2/3)Ca(1/3)Mn(1-x)Ga x O3 manganites, where a quantum critical point (QCP) has been theoretically predicted. The metallic ferromagnetic ground state for low Ga doping breaks down for x > or = 0.11, an insulating state being established at low temperatures. Long-range ferromagnetism coexists with short-range magnetic correlations in the concentration range 0.11 < or = x < or = 0.145 while only the short-range correlations survive for x > or = 0.16. We discuss the implications of such a QCP to the physics of manganites and compare to other QCP systems.     

Ferromagnetism in Ga(1-x)Mn(x)P: evidence for inter-Mn exchange mediated by localized holes within a detached impurity band

We report an energy gap for hole photoexcitation in ferromagnetic Ga(1-x)Mn(x)P that is tunable by Mn concentration (x < or = 0.06) and by compensation with Te donors. For x approximately 0.06, electrical transport is dominated by excitation across this gap above the Curie temperature (TC) of 60 K and by thermally activated hopping below TC. Magnetization measurements reveal a moment of 3.9 +/- 0.4 muB per substitutional Mn while the large anomalous Hall signal demonstrates that the ferromagnetism is carrier mediated. In aggregate these data indicate that ferromagnetic exchange is mediated by holes localized in a Mn-derived band that is detached from the valence band.     

Decomposition of 1/f noise in Al(x)Ga(1-x)As/GaAs Hall devices

We present a systematic study of the low-frequency noise in micron and submicron Hall devices made from Al(x)Ga(1-x)As/GaAs heterostructures. In a sample with feature size as small as 0.45 microm we observe a nonmonotonic temperature dependence of the noise power spectral densities (PSD's) at temperatures where surface states and deep-level excitations are frozen out. Near the temperature where the noise peaks, the PSD's can be described by a thermally activated two-level random telegraph signal, i.e., the 1/f noise originating from switching events in the highly doped Al(x)Ga(1-x) layer is resolved into a single Lorentzian spectrum.     

Microscopic evidence for the modification of the electronic structure at grain boundaries of Cu(In(1-x),Ga(x))Se2 films

We investigated the electronic properties around grain boundaries of polycrystalline Cu(In(1-x),Ga(x)Se(2)) films as a function of Ga content, using scanning tunneling spectroscopy. Spectra acquired on samples with low Ga content (x=0 and 0.33) reveal downward band bending with respect to adjacent p-type grains, suggesting type inversion at the surface of grain boundaries. Such a behavior was not observed for samples with high Ga contents. These results are consistent with our atomic force microscopy data and may shed light on the origin of the x-dependent efficiency for polycrystalline Cu(In(1-x),Ga(x)Se(2))-based solar cells.     

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.     

Infrared probe of itinerant ferromagnetism in Ga(1-x)Mn(x)As

The doping and temperature dependence of the complex conductivity is determined for the ferromagnetic semiconductor Ga(1-x)Mn(x)As. A broad resonance develops with Mn doping at an energy scale of approximately 200 meV, well within the GaAs band gap. Possible origins of this feature are explored in the context of a Mn induced impurity band and intervalence band transitions. From a sum rule analysis of the conductivity data the effective mass of the itinerant charge carriers is found to be at least a factor of 3 greater than what is expected for hole doped GaAs. In the ferromagnetic state a significant decrease in the effective mass is observed, demonstrating the role played by the heavy carriers in inducing ferromagnetism in this system.     

Magnetostructural transition in NiCuCoMnGa alloys

The effects of the addition of Co on the martensitic transformation and Curie transition temperatures of polycrystalline Ni46-xCu4CoxMn33.sGa16.5 （x = 0, 1, 3, 5） alloys are investigated. An abrupt decrease in the martensitic transformation temperature and an obvious increase in the Curie transition temperature of austenite （TA） are observed when Co is doped in the NiCuMnGa alloy. As a result, the composition range for obtaining the magnetostructural transition is extended. Furthermore, the effect of a strong magnetic field on the magnetostructural transition is analyzed. This study offers a possible method to extend the composition range for obtaining magnetostructural transition in Heusler alloys.     

Ba(1-x)K(x)Mn2As2: an antiferromagnetic local-moment metal

The compound BaMn2As2 with the tetragonal ThCr2Si2 structure is a local-moment antiferromagnetic insulator with a Néel temperature T(N)=625 K and a large ordered moment μ=3.9μ(B)/Mn. We demonstrate that this compound can be driven metallic by partial substitution of Ba by K while retaining the same crystal and antiferromagnetic structures together with nearly the same high T(N) and large μ. Ba(1-x)K(x)Mn2As2 is thus the first metallic ThCr2Si2-type MAs-based system containing local 3d transition metal M magnetic moments, with consequences for the ongoing debate about the local-moment versus itinerant pictures of the FeAs-based superconductors and parent compounds. The Ba(1-x)K(x)Mn2As2 class of compounds also forms a bridge between the layered iron pnictides and cuprates and may be useful to test theories of high T(c) superconductivity.     

Increasing the equilibrium solubility of dopants in semiconductor multilayers and alloys

We have theoretically studied the possibility to control the equilibrium solubility of dopants in semiconductor alloys, by strategic tuning of the alloy concentration. From the modeled cases of C(0) in Si(x)Ge(1-x), Zn(-) and Cd(-) in Ga(x)In(1-x)P it is seen that under certain conditions the dopant solubility can be orders of magnitude higher in an alloy or multilayer than in either of the elements of the alloy. This is found to be due to the solubility's strong dependence on the lattice constant for size mismatched dopants. The equilibrium doping concentration in alloys or multilayers could therefore be increased significantly. More specifically, Zn- in a Ga(x)In(1-x)P multilayer is found to have a maximum solubility for x = 0.9, which is 5 orders of magnitude larger than that of pure InP.     

Temperature-dependent Sellmeier equation for the refractive index of Al(x)Ga(1-x)As

We derived a temperature-dependent Sellmeier equation for Al(x)Ga(1-x)As material by measuring the refractive index of GaAs and AlAs with temperature dependence in a resonant cavity enhanced structure. The equation is applicable in the range of 1460-1580 nm and 26-86 degrees C and can be extrapolated to the other wavelengths and temperature ranges as well.     

Stable multidomain structures formed in the process of magnetization reversal in GaMnAs ferromagnetic semiconductor thin films

The process of magnetization reversal in ferromagnetic Ga(1-x)Mn(x)As epilayers has been systematically investigated using the planar Hall effect (PHE). Interestingly, we have observed a pronounced asymmetry in the PHE hysteresis when the range of the field scan is restricted to fields below the final magnetization transition. The observed behavior indicates that (a) multidomain structures are formed as M undergoes a reorientation, (b) the domain landscape formed in this way remains stable even after the magnetic field is switched off, and (c) the reorientation of magnetization directions corresponding to the transition points in PHE takes place separately within each domain.     

Scaling and universality of integer quantum Hall plateau-to-plateau transitions

We have investigated the integer quantum Hall plateau-to-plateau transition in two-dimensional electrons confined to AlxGa(1-x)As-Al0.33Ga0.67As heterostructures over a broad range of Al concentration x. For x between 0.65% and 1.6%, where the dominant contribution to disorder is from the short-range alloy potential fluctuations, we observe a perfect power-law scaling in the temperature range from 30 mK to 1 K with a critical exponent kappa = 0.42 +/- 0.01.     

第一原理计算稀磁半导体(In1-xMnx)As的晶格常数,磁性和电子结构

用紧束缚近似线性Muffin-tin轨道的方法计算了稀磁半导体(In1-xMnx)As(x=1/2,1/4和1/8)的晶格常数,磁性和电子结构.给出了Mn掺杂浓度的变化对(In1-xMnx)As的晶格常数,磁性和电子结构的影响.