Properties of ferromagnetic Ga/sub 1-x/Mn/sub x/N films grown by ammonia-MBE

Abstract

Using ammonia as nitrogen source for molecular beam epitaxy, the GaN-based diluted magnetic semiconductor Ga/sub 1-x/Mn/sub x/N is successfully grown with Mn concentration up to x/spl sim/6.8% and with p-type conductivity. The films have wurtzite structure with substitutional Mn on Ga site in GaN. Magnetization measurements revealed that Ga/sub 1-x/Mn/sub x/N is ferromagnetic at temperatures higher than room temperature. The ferromagnetic-paramagnetic transition temperature, Tc, depends on the Mn concentration of the film. At low temperatures, the magnetization increases with increasing of magnetic field, implying that a paramagnetic-like phase coexists with ferromagnetic one. Possible explanations will be proposed for the coexistence of two magnetic phases in the grown films.