Anomalous Hall effect in field-effect structures of (Ga,Mn)As

The anomalous Hall effect in metal-insulator-semiconductor structures having thin (Ga,Mn)As layers as a channel has been studied in a wide range of Mn and hole densities changed by the gate electric field. Strong and unanticipated temperature dependence, including a change of sign, of the anomalous Hall conductance $\sigma_{xy}$ has been found in samples with the highest Curie temperatures. For more disordered channels, the scaling relation between $\sigma_{xy}$ and $\sigma_{xx}$, similar to the one observed previously for thicker samples, is recovered.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Origin of ferromagnetism in (Zn,Co)O from magnetization and spin-dependent magnetoresistance

In order to elucidate the nature of ferromagnetic signatures observed in (Zn,Co)O we have examined experimentally and theoretically magnetic properties and spin-dependent quantum localization effects that control low-temperature magnetoresistance. Our findings, together with a through structural characterization, substantiate the model assigning spontaneous magnetization of (Zn,Co)O to uncompensated spins at the surface of antiferromagnetic nanocrystal of Co-rich wurtzite (Zn,Co)O. The model explains a large anisotropy observed in both magnetization and magnetoresistance in terms of spin hamiltonian of Co ions in the crystal field of the wurtzite lattice.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure

Prospect for room temperature tunneling anisotropic magnetoresistance effect: density of states anisotropies in CoPt systems

Tunneling anisotropic magnetoresistance (TAMR) effect, discovered recently in (Ga,Mn)As ferromagnetic semiconductors, arises from spin-orbit coupling and reflects the dependence of the tunneling density of states in a ferromagnetic layer on orientation of the magnetic moment. Based on ab initio relativistic calculations of the anisotropy in the density of states we predict sizable TAMR effects in room-temperature metallic ferromagnets. This opens prospect for new spintronic devices with a simpler geometry as these do not require antiferromagnetically coupled contacts on either side of the tunnel junction. We focus on several model systems ranging from simple hcp-Co to more complex ferromagnetic structures with enhanced spin-orbit coupling, namely bulk and thin film L1$_0$-CoPt ordered alloys and a monatomic-Co chain at a Pt surface step edge. Reliability of the predicted density of states anisotropies is confirmed by comparing quantitatively our ab initio results for the magnetocrystalline anisotropies in these systems with experimental data.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Bound Magnetic Polaron Interactions in Insulating Doped Diluted Magnetic Semiconductors

The magnetic behavior of insulating doped diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMS) is characterized by the interaction of large collective spins known as bound magnetic polarons. Experimental measurements of the susceptibility of these materials have suggested that the polaron-polaron interaction is ferromagnetic, in contrast to the antiferromagnetic carrier-carrier interactions that are characteristic of nonmagnetic semiconductors. To explain this behavior, a model has been developed in which polarons interact via both the standard direct carrier-carrier exchange interaction (due to virtual carrier hopping) and an indirect carrier-ion-carrier exchange interaction (due to the interactions of polarons with magnetic ions in an interstitial region). Using a variational procedure, the optimal values of the model parameters were determined as a function of temperature. At temperatures of interest, the parameters describing polaron-polaron interactions were found to be nearly temperature-independent. For reasonable values of these constant parameters, we find that indirect ferromagnetic interactions can dominate the direct antiferromagnetic interactions and cause the polarons to align. This result supports the experimental evidence for ferromagnetism in insulating doped DMS.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figure

Noncollinear Ferromagnetism in (III,Mn)V Semiconductors

We investigate the stability of the collinear ferromagnetic state in kinetic exchange models for (III,Mn)V semiconductors with randomly distributed Mn ions >. Our results suggest that {\em noncollinear ferromagnetism} is commom to these semiconductor systems. The instability of the collinear state is due to long-ranged fluctuations invloving a large fraction of the localized magnetic moments. We address conditions that favor the occurrence of noncollinear groundstates and discuss unusual behavior that we predict for the temperature and field dependence of its saturation magnetization.Comment: 5 pages, one figure included, presentation of technical aspects simplified, version to appear in Phys. Rev. Let

Origin of bulk uniaxial anisotropy in zinc-blende dilute magnetic semiconductors

It is demonstrated that the nearest neighbor Mn pair on the GaAs (001) surface has a lower energy for the [-110] direction comparing to the [110] case. According to the group theory and the Luttinger's method of invariants, this specific Mn distribution results in bulk uniaxial in-plane and out-of-plane anisotropies. The sign and magnitude of the corresponding anisotropy energies determined by a perturbation method and ab initio computations are consistent with experimental results.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figur

Magnetic interactions of substitutional Mn pairs in GaAs

We employ a kinetic-exchange tight-binding model to calculate the magnetic interaction and anisotropy energies of a pair of substitutional Mn atoms in GaAs as a function of their separation distance and direction. We find that the most energetically stable configuration is usually one in which the spins are ferromagnetically aligned along the vector connecting the Mn atoms. The ferromagnetic configuration is characterized by a splitting of the topmost unoccupied acceptor levels, which is visible in scanning tunneling microscope studies when the pair is close to the surface and is strongly dependent on pair orientation. The largest acceptor splittings occur when the Mn pair is oriented along the symmetry direction, and the smallest when they are oriented along . We show explicitly that the acceptor splitting is not simply related to the effective exchange interaction between the Mn local moments. The exchange interaction constant is instead more directly related to the width of the distribution of all impurity levels -- occupied and unoccupied. When the Mn pair is at the (110) GaAs surface, both acceptor splitting and effective exchange interaction are very small except for the smallest possible Mn separation.Comment: 25 figure

The enhancement of ferromagnetism in uniaxially stressed diluted magnetic semiconductors

We predict a new mechanism of enhancement of ferromagnetic phase transition temperature $T_c$ in uniaxially stressed diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMS) of p-type. Our prediction is based on comparative studies of both Heisenberg (inherent to undistorted DMS with cubic lattice) and Ising (which can be applied to strongly enough stressed DMS) models in a random field approximation permitting to take into account the spatial inhomogeneity of spin-spin interaction. Our calculations of phase diagrams show that area of parameters for existence of DMS-ferromagnetism in Ising model is much larger than that in Heisenberg model.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Ferromagnetism in semiconductors and oxides: prospects from a ten years' perspective

Over the last decade the search for compounds combining the resources of semiconductors and ferromagnets has evolved into an important field of materials science. This endeavour has been fuelled by continual demonstrations of remarkable low-temperature functionalities found for ferromagnetic structures of (Ga,Mn)As, p-(Cd,Mn)Te, and related compounds as well as by ample observations of ferromagnetic signatures at high temperatures in a number of non-metallic systems. In this paper, recent experimental and theoretical developments are reviewed emphasising that, from the one hand, they disentangle many controversies and puzzles accumulated over the last decade and, on the other, offer new research prospects.Comment: review, 13 pages, 8 figures, 109 reference

Spinodal nanodecomposition in magnetically doped semiconductors

This review presents the recent progress in computational materials design, experimental realization, and control methods of spinodal nanodecomposition under three- and two-dimensional crystal-growth conditions in spintronic materials, such as magnetically doped semiconductors. The computational description of nanodecomposition, performed by combining first-principles calculations with kinetic Monte Carlo simulations, is discussed together with extensive electron microscopy, synchrotron radiation, scanning probe, and ion beam methods that have been employed to visualize binodal and spinodal nanodecomposition (chemical phase separation) as well as nanoprecipitation (crystallographic phase separation) in a range of semiconductor compounds with a concentration of transition metal (TM) impurities beyond the solubility limit. The role of growth conditions, co-doping by shallow impurities, kinetic barriers, and surface reactions in controlling the aggregation of magnetic cations is highlighted. According to theoretical simulations and experimental results the TM-rich regions appear either in the form of nanodots (the {\em dairiseki} phase) or nanocolumns (the {\em konbu} phase) buried in the host semiconductor. Particular attention is paid to Mn-doped group III arsenides and antimonides, TM-doped group III nitrides, Mn- and Fe-doped Ge, and Cr-doped group II chalcogenides, in which ferromagnetic features persisting up to above room temperature correlate with the presence of nanodecomposition and account for the application-relevant magneto-optical and magnetotransport properties of these compounds. Finally, it is pointed out that spinodal nanodecomposition can be viewed as a new class of bottom-up approach to nanofabrication.Comment: 72 pages, 79 figure