Precise tuning of the Curie temperature of (Ga,Mn)As-based magnetic semiconductors by hole compensation: Support for valence-band ferromagnetism

Zhou, Shengqiang; Li, Lin; Yuan, Ye; Rushforth, A.W.; Chen, Lin; Wang, Yutian; B�ttger, R.; Heller, R.; Zhao, Jianhua; Edmonds, K.W.; Campion, R.P.; Gallagher, B.L.; Timm, C.; Helm, M.

Abstract

For the prototype diluted ferromagnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)As, there is a fundamental concern about the electronic states near the Fermi level, i.e., whether the Fermi level resides in a well-separated impurity band derived from Mn doping (impurity-band model) or in the valence band that is already merged with the Mn-derived impurity band (valence-band model). We investigate this question by carefully shifting the Fermi level by means of carrier compensation. We use helium-ion implantation, a standard industry technology, to precisely compensate the hole doping of GaAs-based diluted ferromagnetic semiconductors while keeping the Mn concentration constant. We monitor the change of Curie temperature (TC) and conductivity. For a broad range of samples including (Ga,Mn)As and (Ga,Mn)(As,P) with various Mn and P concentrations, we observe a smooth decrease of TC with carrier compensation over a wide temperature range while the conduction is changed from metallic to insulating. The existence of TC below 10 K is also confirmed in heavily compensated samples. Our experimental results are naturally explained within the valence-band picture.

Citation

Zhou, S., Li, L., Yuan, Y., Rushforth, A., Chen, L., Wang, Y., Böttger, R., Heller, R., Zhao, J., Edmonds, K., Campion, R., Gallagher, B., Timm, C., & Helm, M. (2016). Precise tuning of the Curie temperature of (Ga,Mn)As-based magnetic semiconductors by hole compensation: Support for valence-band ferromagnetism. Physical Review B, 94(7), https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.94.075205

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 15, 2016
• Publication Date: Aug 15, 2016
• Deposit Date: Sep 23, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 23, 2016
• Journal: Physical Review B
• Print ISSN: 2469-9950
• Electronic ISSN: 2469-9969
• Publisher: American Physical Society
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 94
• Issue: 7
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.94.075205
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/805658
• Publisher URL: http://journals.aps.org/prb/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevB.94.075205
• Additional Information: Shengqiang Zhou, Lin Li, Ye Yuan, A. W. Rushforth, Lin Chen, Yutian Wang, R. Böttger, R. Heller, Jianhua Zhao, K. W. Edmonds, R. P. Campion, B. L. Gallagher, C. Timm, and M. Helm Phys. Rev. B 94, 075205 – Published 15 August 2016
• Contract Date: Sep 23, 2016