Current-driven Magnetization Reversal in a Ferromagnetic Semiconductor (Ga,Mn)As/GaAs/(Ga,Mn)As Tunnel Junction

Current-driven magnetization reversal in a ferromagnetic semiconductor based (Ga,Mn)As/GaAs/(Ga,Mn)As magnetic tunnel junction is demonstrated at 30 K. Magnetoresistance measurements combined with current pulse application on a rectangular 1.5 x 0.3 um^2 device revealed that magnetization switching occurs at low critical current densities of 1.1 - 2.2 x 10^5 A/cm^2 despite the presence of spin-orbit interaction in the p-type semiconductor system. Possible mechanisms responsible for the effect are discussed.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure

Mott Relation for Anomalous Hall and Nernst effects in Ga1-xMnxAs Ferromagnetic Semiconductors

The Mott relation between the electrical and thermoelectric transport coefficients normally holds for phenomena involving scattering. However, the anomalous Hall effect (AHE) in ferromagnets may arise from intrinsic spin-orbit interaction. In this work, we have simultaneously measured AHE and the anomalous Nernst effect (ANE) in Ga1-xMnxAs ferromagnetic semiconductor films, and observed an exceptionally large ANE at zero magnetic field. We further show that AHE and ANE share a common origin and demonstrate the validity of the Mott relation for the anomalous transport phenomena

Disorder, spin-orbit, and interaction effects in dilute Ga1−xMnxAs{\rm Ga}_{1-x}{\rm Mn}_x{\rm As}

We derive an effective Hamiltonian for ${\rm Ga}_{1-x}{\rm Mn}_x {\rm As}$ in the dilute limit, where ${\rm Ga}_{1-x}{\rm Mn}_x {\rm As}$ can be described in terms of spin $F=3/2$ polarons hopping between the {\rm Mn} sites and coupled to the local {\rm Mn} spins. We determine the parameters of our model from microscopic calculations using both a variational method and an exact diagonalization within the so-called spherical approximation. Our approach treats the extremely large Coulomb interaction in a non-perturbative way, and captures the effects of strong spin-orbit coupling and Mn positional disorder. We study the effective Hamiltonian in a mean field and variational calculation, including the effects of interactions between the holes at both zero and finite temperature. We study the resulting magnetic properties, such as the magnetization and spin disorder manifest in the generically non-collinear magnetic state. We find a well formed impurity band fairly well separated from the valence band up to $x_{\rm active} \lesssim 0.015$ for which finite size scaling studies of the participation ratios indicate a localization transition, even in the presence of strong on-site interactions, where $x_{\rm active}<x_{\rm nom}$ is the fraction of magnetically active Mn. We study the localization transition as a function of hole concentration, Mn positional disorder, and interaction strength between the holes.Comment: 15 pages, 12 figure

Smell, Taste, and Temperature Interfaces

Everyday life hinges on smell, taste, and temperature-based experiences, from eating to detecting potential hazards (e.g., smell of rotten food, microbial threats, and non-microbial threats such as from hazardous gases) to responding to thermal behavioral changes. These experiences are formative as visceral, vital signals of information, and contribute directly to our safety, well-being, and enjoyment. Despite this, contemporary technology mostly stimulates vision, audition, and - more recently - touch, unfortunately leaving out the senses of smell taste and temperature. In the last decade, smell, taste, and temperature interfaces have gained a renewed attention in the field of Human Computer Interaction, fueled by the growth of virtual reality and wearable devices. As these modalities are further explored, it is imperative to discuss underlying cultural contexts of these experiences, how researchers can robustly stimulate and sense these modalities, and in what contexts such multisensory technologies are meaningful. This workshop addresses these topics and seeks to provoke critical discussions around chemo- and thermo-sensory HCI

Systematic study of Mn-doping trends in optical properties of (Ga,Mn)As

We report on a systematic study of optical properties of (Ga,Mn)As epilayers spanning the wide range of accessible substitutional Mn_Ga dopings. The growth and post-growth annealing procedures were optimized for each nominal Mn doping in order to obtain films which are as close as possible to uniform uncompensated (Ga,Mn)As mixed crystals. We observe a broad maximum in the mid-infrared absorption spectra whose position exhibits a prevailing blue-shift for increasing Mn-doping. In the visible range, a peak in the magnetic circular dichroism blue shifts with increasing Mn-doping. These observed trends confirm that disorder-broadened valence band states provide a better one-particle representation for the electronic structure of high-doped (Ga,Mn)As with metallic conduction than an energy spectrum assuming the Fermi level pinned in a narrow impurity band.Comment: 22 pages, 14 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

Spectroscopic determination of hole density in the ferromagnetic semiconductor Ga1−x_{1-x}Mnx_{x}As

The measurement of the hole density in the ferromagnetic semiconductor Ga$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$As is notoriously difficult using standard transport techniques due to the dominance of the anomalous Hall effect. Here, we report the first spectroscopic measurement of the hole density in four Ga$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$As samples ($x=0, 0.038, 0.061, 0.083$) at room temperature using Raman scattering intensity analysis of the coupled plasmon-LO-phonon mode and the unscreened LO phonon. The unscreened LO phonon frequency linearly decreases as the Mn concentration increases up to 8.3%. The hole density determined from the Raman scattering shows a monotonic increase with increasing $x$ for $x\leq0.083$, exhibiting a direct correlation to the observed $T_c$. The optical technique reported here provides an unambiguous means of determining the hole density in this important new class of ``spintronic'' semiconductor materials.Comment: two-column format 5 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Physical Review