Atom-by-atom substitution of Mn in GaAs and visualization of their hole-mediated interactions

Dale Kitchen; Anthony Richardella; Jian-Ming Tang; Michael E Flatte; Ali Yazdani

doi:10.1038/nature04971

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Atom-by-atom substitution of Mn in GaAs and visualization of their hole-mediated interactions

Journal article

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Atom-by-atom substitution of Mn in GaAs and visualization of their hole-mediated interactions

Dale Kitchen, Anthony Richardella, Jian-Ming Tang, Michael E Flatte and Ali Yazdani

Nature (London), Vol.442(7101), pp.436-439

07/27/2006

DOI: 10.1038/nature04971

PMID: 16871214

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https://arxiv.org/pdf/cond-mat/0607765View

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Abstract

The discovery of ferromagnetism in Mn-doped GaAs has ignited interest in the development of semiconductor technologies based on electron spin and has led to several proof-of-concept spintronic devices. A major hurdle for realistic applications of Ga1-xMnxAs, or other dilute magnetic semiconductors, remains that their ferromagnetic transition temperature is below room temperature. Enhancing ferromagnetism in semiconductors requires us to understand the mechanisms for interaction between magnetic dopants, such as Mn, and identify the circumstances in which ferromagnetic interactions are maximized. Here we describe an atom-by-atom substitution technique using a scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) and apply it to perform a controlled study at the atomic scale of the interactions between isolated Mn acceptors, which are mediated by holes in GaAs. High-resolution STM measurements are used to visualize the GaAs electronic states that participate in the Mn-Mn interaction and to quantify the interaction strengths as a function of relative position and orientation. Our experimental findings, which can be explained using tight-binding model calculations, reveal a strong dependence of ferromagnetic interaction on crystallographic orientation. This anisotropic interaction can potentially be exploited by growing oriented Ga1-xMnxAs structures to enhance the ferromagnetic transition temperature beyond that achieved in randomly doped samples. © 2006 Nature Publishing Group.

Physics

Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties

Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties

Defects and impurities in crystals; microstructure

Doping and impurity implantation in iii-v and ii-vi semiconductors

Electron states

Exact sciences and technology

Iii-v semiconductors

Impurity and defect levels

Magnetic properties and materials

Magnetic semiconductors

Structure of solids and liquids; crystallography

Studies of specific magnetic materials

Details

Title: Subtitle: Atom-by-atom substitution of Mn in GaAs and visualization of their hole-mediated interactions
Creators: Dale Kitchen - Princeton University
Anthony Richardella - University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Jian-Ming Tang - Optical Science and Technology Center and Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, United States
Michael E Flatte - University of Iowa
Ali Yazdani - Princeton University
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Nature (London), Vol.442(7101), pp.436-439
DOI: 10.1038/nature04971
PMID: 16871214
NLM abbreviation: Nature
ISSN: 0028-0836
eISSN: 1476-4687
Publisher: Nature Publishing
Language: English
Date published: 07/27/2006
Academic Unit: Electrical and Computer Engineering; Physics and Astronomy
Record Identifier: 9984428671002771

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