Structural and Magnetic Characteristics of MnAs Nanoclusters Embedded in Be-doped GaAs

We describe a systematic study of the synthesis, microstructure and magnetization of hybrid ferromagnet-semiconductor nanomaterials comprised of MnAs nanoclusters embedded in a p-doped GaAs matrix. These samples are created during the in situ annealing of Be-doped (Ga,Mn)As heterostructures grown by molecular beam epitaxy. Transmission electron microscopy and magnetometry studies reveal two distinct classes of nanoclustered samples whose structural and magnetic properties depend on the Mn content of the initial (Ga,Mn)As layer. For Mn content in the range 5% - 7.5%, annealing creates a superparamagnetic material with a uniform distribution of small clusters (diameter around 6 nm) and with a low blocking temperature (T_B approximately 10 K). While transmission electron microscopy cannot definitively identify the composition and crystalline phase of these small clusters, our experimental data suggest that they may be comprised of either zinc-blende MnAs or Mn-rich regions of (Ga,Mn)As. At higher Mn content (> 8 %), we find that annealing results in an inhomogeneous distribution of both small clusters as well as much larger NiAs-phase MnAs clusters (diameter around 25 nm). These samples also exhibit supermagnetism, albeit with substantially larger magnetic moments and coercive fields, and blocking temperatures well above room temperature

Measurements of Nanoscale Domain Wall Flexing in a Ferromagnetic Thin Film

We use the high spatial sensitivity of the anomalous Hall effect in the ferromagnetic semiconductor Ga1-xMnxAs, combined with the magneto-optical Kerr effect, to probe the nanoscale elastic flexing behavior of a single magnetic domain wall in a ferromagnetic thin film. Our technique allows position sensitive characterization of the pinning site density, which we estimate to be around 10^14 cm^{-3}. Analysis of single site depinning events and their temperature dependence yields estimates of pinning site forces (10 pN range) as well as the thermal deactivation energy. Finally, our data hints at a much higher intrinsic domain wall mobility for flexing than previously observed in optically-probed micron scale measurements

Coherent Heteroepitaxy of Bi2Se3 on GaAs (111)B

We report the heteroepitaxy of single crystal thin films of Bi2Se3 on the (111)B surface of GaAs by molecular beam epitaxy. We find that Bi2Se3 grows highly c-axis oriented, with an atomically sharp interface with the GaAs substrate. By optimizing the growth of a very thin GaAs buffer layer before growing the Bi2Se3, we demonstrate the growth of thin films with atomically flat terraces over hundreds of nanometers. Initial time-resolved Kerr rotation measurements herald opportunities for probing coherent spin dynamics at the interface between a candidate topological insulator and a large class of GaAs-based heterostructures.Comment: To appear in Applied Physics Letter

Measurement and simulation of anisotropic magnetoresistance in single GaAs/MnAs core/shell nanowires

We report four probe measurements of the low field magnetoresistance in single core/shell GaAs/MnAs nanowires synthesized by molecular beam epitaxy, demonstrating clear signatures of anisotropic magnetoresistance that track the field-dependent magnetization. A comparison with micromagnetic simulations reveals that the principal characteristics of the magnetoresistance data can be unambiguously attributed to the nanowire segments with a zinc blende GaAs core. The direct correlation between magnetoresistance, magnetization and crystal structure provides a powerful means of characterizing individual hybrid ferromagnet/semiconductor nanostructures.Comment: Submitted to Applied Physics Letters; some typos corrected and a defective figure replace

Interplay between ferromagnetism, surface states, and quantum corrections in a magnetically doped topological insulator

The breaking of time-reversal symmetry by ferromagnetism is predicted to yield profound changes to the electronic surface states of a topological insulator. Here, we report on a concerted set of structural, magnetic, electrical and spectroscopic measurements of \MBS thin films wherein photoemission and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism studies have recently shown surface ferromagnetism in the temperature range 15 K $\leq T \leq 100$ K, accompanied by a suppressed density of surface states at the Dirac point. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy reveal an inhomogeneous distribution of Mn atoms, with a tendency to segregate towards the sample surface. Magnetometry and anisotropic magnetoresistance measurements are insensitive to the high temperature ferromagnetism seen in surface studies, revealing instead a low temperature ferromagnetic phase at $T \lesssim 5$ K. The absence of both a magneto-optical Kerr effect and anomalous Hall effect suggests that this low temperature ferromagnetism is unlikely to be a homogeneous bulk phase but likely originates in nanoscale near-surface regions of the bulk where magnetic atoms segregate during sample growth. Although the samples are not ideal, with both bulk and surface contributions to electron transport, we measure a magnetoconductance whose behavior is qualitatively consistent with predictions that the opening of a gap in the Dirac spectrum drives quantum corrections to the conductance in topological insulators from the symplectic to the orthogonal class.Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev.