Recent Progress in III-V based ferromagnetic semiconductors: Band structure, Fermi level, and tunneling transport

Spin-based electronics or spintronics is an emerging field, in which we try to utilize spin degrees of freedom as well as charge transport in materials and devices. While metal-based spin-devices, such as magnetic-field sensors and magnetoresistive random access memory using giant magnetoresistance and tunneling magnetoresistance, are already put to practical use, semiconductor-based spintronics has greater potential for expansion because of good compatibility with existing semiconductor technology. Many semiconductor-based spintronics devices with useful functionalities have been proposed and explored so far. To realize those devices and functionalities, we definitely need appropriate materials which have both the properties of semiconductors and ferromagnets. Ferromagnetic semiconductors (FMS), which are alloy semiconductors containing magnetic atoms such as Mn and Fe, are one of the most promising classes of materials for this purpose, and thus have been intensively studied for the past two decades. Here, we review the recent progress in the studies of the most prototypical III-V based FMS, p-type (GaMn)As, and its heterostructures with focus on tunneling transport, Fermi level, and bandstructure. Furthermore, we cover the properties of a new n-type FMS, (InFe)As, which shows electron-induced ferromagnetism. These FMS materials having zinc-blende crystal structure show excellent compatibility with well-developed III-V heterostructures and devices.Comment: Accepted in Applied Physics Review

Control of ferromagnetism by manipulating the carrier wavefunction in ferromagnetic semiconductor (In,Fe)As quantum wells

We demonstrated the control of ferromagnetism in a surface quantum well containing a 5-nm-thick n-type ferromagnetic semiconductor (In,Fe)As layer sandwiched between two InAs layers, by manipulating the carrier wavefunction. The Curie temperature (Tc) of the (In,Fe)As layer was effectively changed by up to 12 K ({\Delta}Tc/Tc = 55%). Our calculation using the mean-field Zener theory reveals an unexpectedly large s-d exchange interaction in (In,Fe)As. Our results establish an effective way to control the ferromagnetism in quantum heterostructures of n-type FMSs, as well as require reconsideration on the current understanding of the s-d exchange interaction in narrow gap FMSs.Comment: 28 pages icluding both main text(15 pages, 4 figures) and supplementary information (13 pages

Origin of the giant spin Hall effect in BiSb topological insulator

The giant spin Hall effect (SHE) at room temperature is one of the most attractive feature of topological insulators (TIs) for applications to nano-scale spin devices. Its origin, however, remains a controversial problem. Here, we identify the origin of the giant SHE in BiSb thin films by measuring the spin Hall angle ${\theta}_{SH}$ under controllable contribution of surface and bulk conduction. We found that ${\theta}_{SH}$ of a Bi$_{0.6}$Sb$_{0.4}$ TI thin film takes colossal values (450 - 530 at 8 K, and 38 at 300 K), and is almost governed by contribution from the topological surface states. Meanwhile, ${\theta}_{SH}$ in a Bi$_{0.2}$Sb$_{0.8}$ semi-metallic thin film without topological surface states drastically decreases. Our results provide a quantitative tool for analysing the origin of the giant SHE in TI thin films, as well as a strategy for designing spin current source utilizing the surface states of TI in high-performance nano-scale spin devices

Spin-dependent transport properties in GaMnAs-based spin hot-carrier transistors

We have investigated the spin-dependent transport properties of GaMnAs-based three-terminal semiconductor spin hot-carrier transistor (SSHCT) structures. The emitter-base bias voltage VEB dependence of the collector current IC, emitter current IE, and base current IB shows that the current transfer ratio alpha (= IC / IE) and the current gain beta (= IC / IB) are 0.8-0.95 and 1-10, respectively, which means that GaMnAs-based SSHCTs have current amplifiability. In addition, we observed an oscillatory behavior of the tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) ratio with the increasing bias, which can be explained by the resonant tunneling effect in the GaMnAs quantum well.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, submitted to AP

Second main theorems with weighted counting functions and its applications

The purpose of this article has two fold. The first is to generalize some recent second main theorems for the mappings and moving hyperplanes of \P^n(\C) to the case where the counting functions are truncated multiplicity (by level $n$) and have different weights. As its application, the second purpose of this article is to generalize and improve some algebraic dependence theorems for meromorphic mappings having the same inverse images of some moving hyperplanes to the case where the moving hyperplanes involve the assumption with different roles.Comment: This article has been accepted for publication in the Indian Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics since August 201

Bias-field-free spin Hall nano-oscillators with an out-of-plane precession mode

Spin Hall nano-oscillators (SHNOs) are promising candidates for new microwave oscillators with high durability due to a small driving current. However, conventional SHNOs with an in-plane precession (IPP) mode require a bias field for stable oscillations which is not favored in certain applications such as neuromorphic computing. Here, we propose and theoretically analyze a bias-field-free SHNO with an in-plane hard axis and an out-of-plane precession (OPP) mode by solving the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert (LLG) equation analytically and numerically. We derive formulas for driving currents and precession frequency, and show that they are in good agreement with numerical simulation results. We show that our proposed SHNOs can be driven by much smaller bias current than conventional spin torque nano-oscillators

Comment on "Reconciling results of tunnelling experiments on (Ga,Mn)As" arXiv:1102.3267v2 by Dietl and Sztenkiel

We comment on the recent paper "Reconciling results of tunnelling experiments on (Ga,Mn)As" arXiv:1102.3267v2 by Dietl and Sztenkiel. They claimed that the oscillations observed in the d2I/dV2-V characteristics in our studies on the resonant tunneling spectroscopy on GaMnAs, are not attributed to the resonant levels in the GaMnAs layer but to the two-dimensional interfacial subbands in the GaAs:Be layer. Here, we show that this interpretation is not able to explain our experimental results and our conclusions remain unchanged.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure

Heavily Fe-doped n-type ferromagnetic semiconductor (In,Fe)Sb with high Curie temperature and large magnetic anisotropy

We present high-temperature ferromagnetism and large magnetic anisotropy in heavily Fe-doped n-type ferromagnetic semiconductor (In1-x,Fex)Sb (x = 20 - 35%) thin films grown by low-temperature molecular beam epitaxy. The (In1-x,Fex)Sb thin films with x = 20 - 35% maintain the zinc-blende crystal and band structure with single-phase ferromagnetism. The Curie temperature (TC) of (In1-x,Fex)Sb reaches 390 K at x = 35%, which is significantly higher than room temperature and the highest value so far reported in III-V based ferromagnetic semiconductors. Moreover, large coercive force (HC = 160 Oe) and large remanent magnetization (Mr/MS = 71%) have been observed for a (In1-x,Fex)Sb thin film with x = 35%. Our results indicate that the n-type ferromagnetic semiconductor (In1-x,Fex)Sb is very promising for spintronics devices operating at room temperature.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1706.0073

Giant unidirectional magnetoresistance in topological insulator -- ferromagnetic semiconductor heterostructures

The unidirectional magnetoresistance (UMR) is one of the most complex spin-dependent transport phenomena in ferromagnet/non-magnet bilayers, which involves spin injection and accumulation due to the spin Hall effect (SHE) or Rashba-Edelstein effect (REE), spin-dependent scattering, and magnon scattering at the interface or in the bulk of the ferromagnet. While UMR in metallic bilayers has been studied extensively in very recent years, its magnitude is as small as 10$^-$$^5$, which is too small for practical applications. Here, we demonstrate a giant UMR effect in a heterostructure of BiSb topological insulator -- GaMnAs ferromagnetic semiconductor. We obtained a large UMR ratio of 1.1%, and found that this giant UMR is governed not by the giant magnetoresistance (GMR)-like spin-dependent scattering, but by magnon emission/absorption and strong spin-disorder scattering in the GaMnAs layer. Our results provide new insight into the complex physics of UMR, as well as a strategy for enhancing its magnitude for device applications

Spin-orbit torque as a method for field-free detection of in-plane magnetization switching

We proposed and demonstrated a simple method for detection of in-plane magnetization switching by spin-orbit torque (SOT) in bilayers of non-magnetic / magnetic materials. In our method, SOT is used not only for magnetization switching but also for detection. Our method can detect arbitrary Mx and My component without an external magnetic field, which is useful for fast characterization of type-X, type-Y, and type-XY SOT magnetization switching. Our SOT detection scheme can be utilized not only for fast characterization of SOT switching in bilayers, but also for electrical detection of in-plane magnetic domains in race-track memory