Mn incorporation in as-grown and annealed (Ga,Mn)As layers studied by x-ray diffraction and standing-wave fluorescence

Abstract

A combination of high-resolution x-ray diffraction and a technique of x-ray standing-wave fluorescence at grazing incidence is employed to study the structure of a (Ga,Mn)As-diluted magnetic semiconductor and its changes during post-growth annealing steps. We find that the film is formed by a uniform, single-crystallographic phase epilayer covered by a thin surface layer with enhanced Mn concentration to Mn atoms at random noncrystallographic positions. In the epilayer, Mn incorporated at the interstitial position has a dominant effect on lattice expansion as compared to substitutional Mn. The expansion coefficient of interstitial Mn estimated from our data is consistent with theory predictions. The concentration of interstitial Mn and the corresponding lattice expansion of the epilayer are reduced by annealing, accompanied by an increase of the density of randomly distributed Mn atoms in the disordered surface layer. Substitutional Mn atoms remain stable during the low-temperature annealing.