No Arabic abstract
We present the studies of electrical transport and magnetic interactions in Zn_{1-x}Mn_{x}GeAs_{2} crystals with low Mn content 0 leq x leq 0.043. We show that the ionic-acceptor defects are mainly responsible for the strong p-type conductivity of our samples. We found that the negative magnetoresistance (MR) with maximum values of about -50% is related to the weak localization phenomena. The magnetic properties of Zn1-xMnxGeAs2 samples show that the random Mn-distribution in the cation sites of the host lattice occurs only for the sample with the lowest Mn-content, x=0.003. The samples with higher Mn-content show a high level of magnetic frustration. Nonzero Curie-Weiss temperature observed in all our samples indicates that weak ferromagnetic (for x=0.003) or antiferromagnetic (for x>0.005) interactions with |{Theta}|<3 K are present in this system. The RKKY model, used to estimate the Mn-hole exchange integral Jpd for the diluted Zn/0.997/Mn/0.003/GeAs/2/ sample, makes possible to estimate the value of Jpd =(0.75+/-0.09) eV.
We present the studies of structural, electrical, and magnetic properties of bulk Cd$_{1textrm{-}x}$Mn$_{x}$GeAs$_{2}$ crystals with low Mn content, $x$, varying from 0 to 0.037. The studied samples have excellent crystallographic quality indicated by the presence of diffraction patterns never before observed experimentally for this compound. The electrical transport in our samples is dominated by thermal activation of conducting holes from the impurity states to the valence band with activation energy of about 200$;$meV. The defect states acting as ionic scattering centers with concentration in the range from 6 to 15$times$10$^{17}$$;$cm$^{-3}$ are observed. The effective Mn content in our samples, $bar{x}_{theta}$, determined from fit of the susceptibility data to the Curie-Weiss law, is very close to the average chemical content, $x$. It indicates that the Mn ions are distributed randomly, substituting the Cd sites in the host CdGeAs$_{2}$ lattice. We observe a negative Curie-Weiss temperature, $|theta|$$,$$leq$$,$3.1$;$K, increasing as a function of $x$. This indicates the significance of the short-range interactions between the Mn ions.
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.
Effects of spin-orbit coupling and s-d exchange interaction are probed by magnetoresistance measurements carried out down to 50 mK on ZnO and Zn_{1-x}Mn_{x}O with x = 3 and 7%. The films were obtained by laser ablation and doped with Al to electron concentration ~10^{20} cm^{-3}. A quantitative description of the data for ZnO:Al in terms of weak-localization theory makes it possible to determine the coupling constant lambda_{so} = (4.4 +- 0.4)*10^{-11} eVcm of the kp hamiltonian for the wurzite structure, H_{so} = lambda_{so}*c(s x k). A complex and large magnetoresistance of Zn_{1-x}Mn_{x}O:Al is interpreted in terms of the influence of the s-d spin-splitting and magnetic polaron formation on the disorder-modified electron-electron interactions. It is suggested that the proposed model explains the origin of magnetoresistance observed recently in many magnetic oxide systems.
Epitaxial thin films of the substitutionally alloyed half-Heusler series CoTi$_{1-x}$Fe$_x$Sb were grown by molecular beam epitaxy on InAlAs/InP(001) substrates for concentrations 0.0$leq$x$leq$1.0. The influence of Fe on the structural, electronic, and magnetic properties was studied and compared to that expected from density functional theory. The films are epitaxial and single crystalline, as measured by reflection high-energy electron diffraction and X-ray diffraction. Using in-situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, only small changes in the valence band are detected for x$leq$0.5. For films with x$geq$0.05, ferromagnetism is observed in SQUID magnetometry with a saturation magnetization that scales linearly with Fe content. A dramatic decrease in the magnetic moment per formula unit occurs when the Fe is substitutionally alloyed on the Co site indicating a strong dependence on the magnetic moment with site occupancy. A crossover from both in-plane and out-of-plane magnetic moments to only in-plane moment occurs for higher concentrations of Fe. Ferromagnetic resonance indicates a transition from weak to strong interaction with a reduction in inhomogeneous broadening as Fe content is increased. Temperature-dependent transport reveals a semiconductor to metal transition with thermally activated behavior for x$leq$0.5. Anomalous Hall effect and large negative magnetoresistance (up to -18.5% at 100 kOe for x=0.3) are observed for higher Fe content films. Evidence of superparamagnetism for x=0.3 and x=0.2 suggests for moderate levels of Fe, demixing of the CoTi$_{1-x}$Fe$_x$Sb films into Fe rich and Fe deficient regions may be present. Atom probe tomography is used to examine the Fe distribution in a x=0.3 film. Statistical analysis reveals a nonhomogeneous distribution of Fe atoms throughout the film, which is used to explain the observed magnetic and electrical behavior.
The local atomic environments and magnetic properties were investigated for a series of Co(1+x)Fe(2-x)Si (0<x<1) Heusler compounds. While the total magnetic moment in these compounds increases with the number of valance electrons, the highest Curie temperature (Tc) in this series was found for Co1.5Fe1.5Si, with a Tc of 1069 K (24 K higher than the well known Co2FeSi). 57Fe Mossbauer spectroscopy was used to characterize the local atomic order and to estimate the Co and Fe magnetic moments. Consideration of the local magnetic moments and the exchange integrals is necessary to understand the trend in Tc.