Ferromagnetic GaAs structures with single Mn delta-layer fabricated using laser deposition

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Condensed Matter Physics
• Semiconductor Spintronics

Background:

• Ferromagnetic semiconductors are crucial for spintronic devices.
• Fabricating high-quality ferromagnetic semiconductor structures with precise doping is challenging.
• Previous studies often required additional components like quantum wells to achieve ferromagnetism.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel fabrication technique for ferromagnetic semiconductor structures.
• To investigate the magnetic properties of gallium arsenide (GaAs) with a single delta-doped manganese (Mn) layer.
• To demonstrate ferromagnetism in a simplified GaAs structure.

Main Methods:

• Combined metal-organic chemical vapor epitaxy (MOCVD) with laser ablation of solid targets.
• Fabricated GaAs structures featuring a single Mn delta-doped layer.
• Characterized magnetic properties using Hall effect and magnetoresistance measurements.

Main Results:

• Successfully fabricated ferromagnetic GaAs structures with a single Mn delta-doped layer.
• Observed anomalous Hall effect and planar Hall effect.
• Detected negative and anisotropic magnetoresistance within the temperature range of 10-35 K.
• Achieved ferromagnetism in GaAs structures without additional 2D hole gas or quantum wells for the first time.

Conclusions:

• The new fabrication technique enables the creation of ferromagnetic GaAs structures with precise Mn doping.
• Ferromagnetism can be achieved in simplified GaAs structures containing only a single Mn delta-doped layer.
• These findings open new avenues for developing advanced spintronic devices based on ferromagnetic semiconductors.