Spin-dependent phenomena and device concepts explored in (Ga,Mn)As

Over the past two decades, the research of (Ga,Mn)As has led to a deeper understanding of relativistic spin-dependent phenomena in magnetic systems. It has also led to discoveries of new effects and demonstrations of unprecedented functionalities of experimental spintronic devices with general applicability to a wide range of materials. In this article we review the basic material properties that make (Ga,Mn)As a favorable test-bed system for spintronics research and discuss contributions of (Ga,Mn)As studies in the general context of the spin-dependent phenomena and device concepts. Special focus is on the spin-orbit coupling induced effects and the reviewed topics include the interaction of spin with electrical current, light, and heat.Comment: 47 pages, 41 figure

Control of Coercivities in (Ga,Mn)As Thin Films by Small Concentrations of MnAs Nanoclusters

We demonstrate that low concentrations of a secondary magnetic phase in (Ga,Mn)As thin films can enhance the coercivity by factors up to ~100 without significantly degrading the Curie temperature or saturation magnetisation. Magnetic measurements indicate that the secondary phase consists of MnAs nanoclusters, of average size ~7nm. This approach to controlling the coercivity while maintaining high Curie temperature, may be important for realizing ferromagnetic semiconductor based devices.Comment: 8 pages,4 figures. accepted for publication in Appl. Phys. Let

Reorientation Transition in Single-Domain (Ga,Mn)As

We demonstrate that the interplay of in-plane biaxial and uniaxial anisotropy fields in (Ga,Mn)As results in a magnetization reorientation transition and an anisotropic AC susceptibility which is fully consistent with a simple single domain model. The uniaxial and biaxial anisotropy constants vary respectively as the square and fourth power of the spontaneous magnetization across the whole temperature range up to T_C. The weakening of the anisotropy at the transition may be of technological importance for applications involving thermally-assisted magnetization switching.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

DC-transport properties of ferromagnetic (Ga,Mn)As semiconductors

We study the dc transport properties of (Ga,Mn)As diluted magnetic semiconductors with Mn concentration varying from 1.5% to 8%. Both diagonal and Hall components of the conductivity tensor are strongly sensitive to the magnetic state of these semiconductors. Transport data obtained at low temperatures are discussed theoretically within a model of band-hole quasiparticles with a finite spectral width due to elastic scattering from Mn and compensating defects. The theoretical results are in good agreement with measured anomalous Hall effect and anisotropic longitudinal magnetoresistance data. This quantitative understanding of dc magneto-transport effects in (Ga,Mn)As is unparalleled in itinerant ferromagnetic systems.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figure

High Curie temperatures at low compensation in the ferromagnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)As

We investigate the relationship between the Curie temperature TC and the carrier density p in the ferromagnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)As. Carrier densities are extracted from analysis of the Hall resistance at low temperatures and high magnetic fields. Results are found to be consistent with ion channeling measurements when performed on the same samples. We find that both TC and the electrical conductivity increase monotonically with increasing p, and take their largest values when p is comparable to the concentration of substitutional Mn acceptors. This is inconsistent with models in which the Fermi level is located within a narrow isolated impurity band.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

GaMnAs grown on (311) GaAs substrates: modified Mn incorporation and new magnetic anisotropies

We report the results of a detailed study of the structural, magnetic and magnetotransport properties of as-grown and annealed Ga0.91Mn0.09As thin films grown on (311)A and (311)B GaAs substrates. The high Curie temperature and hole density of the (311)B material are comparable to those of GaMnAs grown on (001) GaAs under the same growth conditions, while they are much lower for the (311)A material. We find evidence that Mn incorporation is more efficient for (311)B than for (001) and significantly less efficient for (311)A which is consistent with the bonding on these surfaces. This indicates that growth on (311)B may be a route to increased Curie temperatures in GaMnAs. A biaxial magnetic anisotropy is observed for the (311) material with easy axes along the [010] and [001] out-of-plane directions. An additional uniaxial in-plane anisotropy is also observed with the easy axis along for the (311)A material, and along for the (311)B material. This new observation may be of importance for the resolution of the outstanding problem of the origin of uniaxial anisotropy in (001) GaMnAs.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figures and 1 table. accepted by Phys. Rev.

Search For Hole Mediated Ferromagnetism In Cubic (Ga,Mn)N

Results of magnetisation measurements on p-type zincblende-(Ga,Mn)N are reported. In addition to a small high temperature ferromagnetic signal, we detect ferromagnetic correlation among the remaining Mn ions, which we assign to the onset of hole-mediated ferromagnetism in (Ga,Mn)N.Comment: 2 pages, 1 figure, proc. ICPS 27, Flagstaff '0

Imaginary in all directions: an elegant formulation of special relativity and classical electrodynamics

A suitable parameterization of space-time in terms of one complex and three quaternionic imaginary units allows Lorentz transformations to be implemented as multiplication by complex-quaternionic numbers rather than matrices. Maxwell's equations reduce to a single equation.Comment: 8 page