Theory of magnetic anisotropy in III 1 − x Mn x V ferromagnets

By M. Abolfath, T. Jungwirth, J. Brum, Allan H. MacDonald. 2000

242 citations recorded by the source corpus.

We present a theory of magnetic anisotropy in ${\mathrm{III}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{Mn}}_{x}\mathrm{V}$-diluted magnetic semiconductors with carrier-induced ferromagnetism. The theory is based on four- and six-band envelope function models for the valence-band holes and a mean-field treatment of their exchange interactions with ${\mathrm{Mn}}^{++}$ ions. We find that easy-axis reorientations can occur as a function of temperature, carrier density p, and strain. The magnetic anisotropy in strain-free samples is predicted to have a ${p}^{5/3}$ hole-density dependence at small p, a ${p}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ dependence at large p, and remarkably large values at intermediate densities. An explicit expression, valid at small p, is given for the uniaxial contribution to the magnetic anisotropy due to unrelaxed epitaxial growth lattice-matching strains. Results of our numerical simulations are in agreement with magnetic anisotropy measurements on samples with both compressive and tensile strains. We predict that decreasing the hole density in current samples will lower the ferromagnetic transition temperature, but will increase the magnetic anisotropy energy and the coercivity.

Subfields: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics, Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials, Materials Chemistry

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/da496e0e3cf46506cb251644a9e1356ea67f858d

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics

1. J. Sinova
2. T. Dietl
3. T. Jungwirth
4. Allan H. MacDonald
5. Hideo Ohno
6. J. Wunderlich
7. J. Masek
8. Jan Kucera

In Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials

1. T. Dietl
2. Hideo Ohno
3. T. Jungwirth
4. Allan H. MacDonald
5. J. Sinova
6. Jan Kucera
7. J. Masek

In Materials Chemistry

1. T. Dietl
2. Hideo Ohno
3. J. Sinova
4. T. Jungwirth
5. Allan H. MacDonald
6. J. Masek
7. Jan Kucera
8. J. Wunderlich

Citations in the corpus

• Spin-dependent phenomena and device concepts explored in (Ga,Mn)As (2013, methodology): “…semiconductors were studied by magnetization, magneto-transport, magneto-optical, or ferromagnetic/spin-wave resonance (FMR/SWR) measurements (Abolfath et al., 2001; Bihler et al., 2009; Chiba et al., 2008; Cubukcu et al., 2010a,b; De Ranieri et al., 2013; Dietl et al., 2001; Goennenwein et…”
• Theory of ferromagnetic (III, Mn) V semiconductors (2006, methodology): “…al., 2001a; Sinova et al., 2004b) and predictions based on the microscopic values of these parameters for anisotropy fields, the characteristic size of domains, and the critical current in currentinduced magnetization switching (Abolfath et al., 2001a; Dietl et al., 2001a,a; Sinova et al., 2004b).”
• Dilute ferromagnetic semiconductors: Physics and spintronic structures (2013, methodology): “Following subsequent detail studies for (Ga,Mn)As epilayers (Abolfath et al., 2001; Dietl et al., 2001b), further theoretical analysis of anisotropy energy coefficients Ki and anisotropy fields Hi were carried out for the canonical (001) films (Zemen et al.”