No Arabic abstract
We have investigated the electronic structure of the dilute magnetic semiconductor (DMS) $Ga_{0.98}Mn_{0.02}P$ and compared it to that of an undoped $GaP$ reference sample, using hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HXPS) and hard X-ray angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (HARPES) at energies of about 3 keV. We present experimental data, as well as theoretical calculations, in order to understand the role of the Mn dopant in the emergence of ferromagnetism in this material. Both core-level spectra and angle-resolved or angle-integrated valence spectra are discussed. In particular, the HARPES experimental data are compared to free-electron final-state model calculations and to more accurate one-step photoemission theory. The experimental results show differences between $Ga_{0.98}Mn_{0.02}P$ and $GaP$ in both angle-resolved and angle-integrated valence spectra. The $Ga_{0.98}Mn_{0.02}P$ bands are broadened due to the presence of Mn impurities that disturb the long-range translational order of the host $GaP$ crystal. Mn-induced changes of the electronic structure are observed over the entire valence band range, including the presence of a distinct impurity band close to the valence-band maximum of the DMS. These experimental results are in good agreement with the one-step photoemission calculations, and a prior HARPES study of $Ga_{0.97}Mn_{0.03}As$ and $GaAs$ (Gray et al. Nature Materials 11, 957 (2012)), demonstrating the strong similarity between these two materials. The Mn 2p and 3s core-level spectra also reveal an essentially identical state in doping both $GaAs$ and $GaP$.
This work reports the measurement of magnetic dichroism in angular-resolved photoemission from in-plane magnetized buried thin films. The high bulk sensitivity of hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES) in combination with circularly polarized radiation enables the investigation of the magnetic properties of buried layers. HAXPES experiments with an excitation energy of 8 keV were performed on exchange-biased magnetic layers covered by thin oxide films. Two types of structures were investigated with the IrMn exchange-biasing layer either above or below the ferromagnetic layer: one with a CoFe layer on top and another with a Co$_2$FeAl layer buried beneath the IrMn layer. A pronounced magnetic dichroism is found in the Co and Fe $2p$ states of both materials. The localization of the magnetic moments at the Fe site conditioning the peculiar characteristics of the Co$_2$FeAl Heusler compound, predicted to be a half-metallic ferromagnet, is revealed from the magnetic dichroism detected in the Fe $2p$ states.
GdNi is a ferrimagnetic material with a Curie temperature Tc = 69 K which exhibits a large magnetocaloric effect, making it useful for magnetic refrigerator applications. We investigate the electronic structure of GdNi by carrying out x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) at T = 25 K in the ferrimagnetic phase. We analyze the Gd M$_{4,5}$-edge ($3d$ - $4f$) and Ni L$_{2,3}$-edge ($2p$ - $3d$) spectra using atomic multiplet and cluster model calculations, respectively. The atomic multiplet calculation for Gd M$_{4,5}$-edge XAS indicates that Gd is trivalent in GdNi, consistent with localized $4f$ states. On the other hand, a model cluster calculation for Ni L$_{2,3}$-edge XAS shows that Ni is effectively divalent in GdNi and strongly hybridized with nearest neighbour Gd states, resulting in a $d$-electron count of 8.57. The Gd M$_{4,5}$-edge XMCD spectrum is consistent with a ground state configuration of S = 7/2 and L=0. The Ni L$_{2,3}$-edge XMCD results indicate that the antiferromagnetically aligned Ni moments exhibit a small but finite magnetic moment ( $m_{tot}$ $sim$ 0.12 $mu_B$ ) with the ratio $m_{o}/m_{s}$ $sim$ 0.11. Valence band hard x-ray photoemission spectroscopy shows Ni $3d$ features at the Fermi level, confirming a partially filled $3d$ band, while the Gd $4f$ states are at high binding energies away from the Fermi level. The results indicate that the Ni $3d$ band is not fully occupied and contradicts the charge-transfer model for rare-earth based alloys. The obtained electronic parameters indicate that GdNi is a strongly correlated charge transfer metal with the Ni on-site Coulomb energy being much larger than the effective charge-transfer energy between the Ni $3d$ and Gd $4f$ states.
We have carried out bulk-sensitive hard x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES) measurements on in-situ cleaved and ex-situ polished SmB6 single crystals. Using the multiplet-structure in the Sm 3d core level spectra, we determined reliably that the valence of Sm in bulk SmB6 is close to 2.55 at ~5 K. Temperature dependent measurements revealed that the Sm valence gradually increases to 2.64 at 300 K. From a detailed line shape analysis we can clearly observe that not only the J=0 but also the J=1 state of the Sm 4f 6 configuration becomes occupied at elevated temperatures. Making use of the polarization dependence, we were able to identify and extract the Sm 4f spectral weight of the bulk material. Finally, we revealed that the oxidized or chemically damaged surface region of the ex-situ polished SmB6 single crystal is surprisingly thin, about 1 nm only.
We have undertaken a study of diluted magnetic semiconductors $Ga_{1-x}Mn_{x}N$ and $Ga_{1-x}Cr_{x}N$ with $x=0.0625, 0.125$, using the all electron linearized augmented plane wave method (LAPW) for different configurations of Mn as well as Cr. We study four possible configurations of the impurity in the wurtzite GaN structure to predict energetically most favorable structure within the 32 atom supercell and conclude that the near-neighbor configuration has the lowest energy. We have also analyzed the ferro-magnetic as well as anti-ferromagnetic configurations of the impurity atoms. The density of states as well as bandstructure indicate half metallic state for all the systems. $T_c$ has also been estimated for the above systems.
A laboratory hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HXPS) system equipped with a monochromatic Cr K$alpha$ ($h u = 5414.7$ eV) X-ray source was applied to an investigation of the core-level electronic structure of La$_{1-x}$Sr$_x$MnO$_3$. No appreciable high binding-energy shoulder in the O $1s$ HXPS spectra were observed while an enhanced low binding-energy shoulder structure in the Mn $2p_{3/2}$ HXPS spectra were observed, both of which are manifestation of high bulk sensitivity. Such high bulk sensitivity enabled us to track the Mn $2p_{3/2}$ shoulder structure in the full range of $x$, giving us a new insight into the binding-energy shift of the Mn $2p_{3/2}$ core level. Comparisons with the results using the conventional laboratory XPS ($h u = 1486.6$ eV) as well as those using a synchrotron radiation source ($h u = 7939.9$ eV) demonstrate that HXPS is a powerful and convenient tool to analyze the bulk electronic structure of a host of different compounds.