A. Bonanni

Controlled Aggregation of Magnetic Ions in a Semiconductor: An Experimental Demonstration

The control on the distribution of magnetic ions into a semiconducting host is crucial for the functionality of magnetically doped semiconductors. Through a structural analysis at the nanoscale, we give experimental evidence that the aggregation of Fe ions in (Ga,Fe)N and consequently the magnetic response of the material are affected by the growth rate and doping with shallow impurities.

Ferromagnetic nitride-based semiconductors doped with transition metals and rare earths

This review summarizes the state-of-the-art in the search for room temperature ferromagnetic semiconductors based on transition-metal- and rare-earth-doped nitrides. The major methods of synthesis are reported, together with an overview of the magnetic, structural, electrical and optical characterization of the materials systems, where available. The controversial experimental results concerning the actual value of the apparent Curie temperature in magnetically doped nitrides are highlighted, the inadequacy of standard characterization methods alone and the necessity of a possibly exhaustive structural investigation of the systems are proven and underlined. Furthermore, the dependence on the fabrication parameters of the magnetic ions incorporation into the semiconductor matrix is discussed, with special attention to the fundamental concepts of solubility limit and spinodal decomposition. It is argued that high-temperature ferromagnetic features in magnetically doped nitrides result from the presence of nanoscale regions containing a high concentration of the magnetic constituents. Various functionalities of these multicomponent systems are listed. Moreover, we give an extensive overview on the properties of single magnetic-impurity states in the nitride host. The understanding of this limit is crucial when considering the most recent suggestions for the control of the magnetic ion distribution—and consequently of the magnetic response—through the Fermi level engineering as well as to indicate roads for achieving high-temperature ferromagnetism in the systems containing a uniform distribution of magnetic ions.

Paramagnetic GaN : Fe and ferromagnetic ( Ga , Fe ) N : The relationship between structural, electronic, and magnetic properties

We report on the metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) of GaN:Fe and (Ga,Fe)N layers on c-sapphire substrates and their thorough characterization via high-resolution x-ray diffraction (HRXRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), spatially-resolved energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), secondary-ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS), photoluminescence (PL), Hall-effect, electron-paramagnetic resonance (EPR), and magnetometry employing a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID). A combination of TEM and EDS reveals the presence of coherent nanocrystals presumably FexN with the composition and lattice parameter imposed by the host. From both TEM and SIMS studies, it is stated that the density of nanocrystals and, thus the Fe concentration increases towards the surface. In layers with iron content x<0.4% the presence of ferromagnetic signatures, such as magnetization hysteresis and spontaneous magnetization, have been detected. We link the presence of ferromagnetic signatures to the formation of Fe-rich nanocrystals, as evidenced by TEM and EDS studies. This interpretation is supported by magnetization measurements after cooling in- and without an external magnetic field, pointing to superparamagnetic properties of the system. It is argued that the high temperature ferromagnetic response due to spinodal decomposition into regions with small and large concentration of the magnetic component is a generic property of diluted magnetic semiconductors and diluted magnetic oxides showing high apparent Curie temperature.

A story of high-temperature ferromagnetism in semiconductors

The comprehensive search for multifunctional materials has resulted in the discovery of semiconductors and oxides showing ferromagnetic features persisting to room temperature. In this tutorial review the methods of synthesis of these materials, as well as the application of element-specific nano-analytic tools, particularly involving synchrotron radiation and electron microscopy, are described and shown to reveal the presence of nano-scale phase separations. Various means to control the aggregation of magnetic cations are discussed together with the mechanisms accounting for ferromagnetism of either condensed or diluted magnetic semiconductors. Finally, the question of whether high temperature ferromagnetism is possible in semiconductors not containing magnetic ions is touched upon.

Spinodal nanodecomposition in semiconductors doped with transition metals

T. Dietl, 2, 3 K. Sato, ∗ T. Fukushima, A. Bonanni, † M. Jamet, A. Barski, S. Kuroda, M. Tanaka, Pham Nam Hai, and H. Katayama-Yoshida Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, PL-02-668 Warszawa, Poland Institute of Theoretical Physics, Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw, PL-02-093 Warszawa, Poland WPI-Advanced Institute for Materials Research (WPI-AIMR), Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577, Japan Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-8531, Japan Institut für Halbleiter-und-Festkörperphysik, Johannes Kepler University, A-4040 Linz, Austria Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique, INAC/SP2M-UJF, F-38054 Grenoble, France Institute of Materials Science, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8573, Japan Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Systems, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan Department of Physical Electronics, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan

Structural and paramagnetic properties of dilute Ga 1 − x Mn x N

Systematic investigations of the structural and magnetic properties of single crystal (Ga,Mn)N films grown by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy are presented. High resolution transmission electron microscopy, synchrotron x-ray diffraction, and extended x-ray absorption fine structure studies do not reveal any crystallographic phase separation and indicate that Mn occupies Ga-substitutional sites in the Mn concentration range up to 1%. The magnetic properties as a function of temperature, magnetic field and its orientation with respect to the c-axis of the wurtzite structure can be quantitatively described by the paramagnetic theory of an ensemble of non-interacting Mn

Influence of overlayers on determination of the optical constants of ZnSe thin films

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Carrier-induced ferromagnetic interactions in p-doped Zn(1−x)MnxTe epilayers

ions in the relevant crystal field, a conclusion consistent with the x-ray absorption near edge structure analysis. A negligible contribution of Mn in the 2+ charge state points to a low concentration of residual donors in the studied films. Studies on modulation doped p-type (Ga,Mn)N/(Ga,Al)N:Mg heterostructures do not reproduce the high temperature robust ferromagnetism reported recently for this system.

Experimental probing of exchange interactions between localized spins in the dilute magnetic insulator (Ga,Mn)N

In this article a multisample modification of variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry is used to characterize ZnSe thin films prepared by molecular beam epitaxy on substrates formed by GaAs single crystals. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is employed to characterize the morphology of the upper boundaries of these films. To interpret the ellipsometric data a relatively complicated physical model that contains a rough overlayer between the ambient and the ZnSe film and a transition layer between the GaAs substrate and the ZnSe film is employed. Several models of dispersion of the optical constants of the overlayers are examined to interpret the ellipsometric data. It is shown that the choice of overlayer dispersion model has a strong influence on determining the optical constants and dielectric function of the ZnSe films in the near-UV region. Within the visible region there are no differences between the overlayer dispersion models regarding determination of the ZnSe optical constants. The spectral depende...

Observation of strong-coupling effects in a diluted magnetic semiconductor Ga1-xFexN.

Abstract p-type doping of molecular-beam-epitaxy grown layers of the diluted magnetic semiconductor Zn(1−x)MnxTe is achieved by using an active nitrogen cell. The strong interaction between the localized Mn spins and the holes deeply modifies the transport properties (metal–insulator transition, spin-dependent Hall effect). In spite of the weak localization of the carriers at low temperature, the holes clearly induce a ferromagnetic interaction between the localized spins, which is discussed as a function of Mn content and hole concentration.