@phdthesis{Mark2011,
author = {Mark, Stefan},
title = {A Magnetic Semiconductor based Non-Volatile Memory and Logic Element},
url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-71223},
school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
year = {2011},
abstract = {For the realization of a programmable logic device, or indeed any nanoscale device, we need a reliable method to probe the magnetization direction of local domains. For this purpose we extend investigations on the previously discovered tunneling anisotropic magneto resistance effect (TAMR) by scaling the pillar size from 100 µm down to 260 nm. We start in chapter 4 with a theoretical description of the TAMR effect and show experimental data of miniaturized pillars in chapter 5. With such small TAMR probes we are able to locally sense the magnetization on the 100 nm scale. Sub-micron TAMR and anisotropic magneto resistance (AMR) measurements of sub-millimeter areas show that the behavior of macroscopic (Ga,Mn)As regions is not that of a true macrospin, but rather an ensemble average of the behavior of many nearly identical macrospins. This shows that the magnetic anisotropies of the local regions are consistent with the behavior extracted from macroscopic characterization. A fully electrically controllable read-write memory device out the ferromagnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)As is presented in chapter 6. The structure consists of four nanobars which are connected to a circular center region. The first part of the chapter describes the lithography realization of the device. We make use of the sub-micron TAMR probes to read-out the magnetization state of a 650 nm central disk. Four 200 nm wide nanobars are connected to the central disk and serve as source and drain of a spin-polarized current. With the spin-polarized current we are able to switch the magnetization of the central disk by means of current induced switching. Injecting polarized holes with a spin angular momentum into a magnetic region changes the magnetization direction of the region due to the p-d exchange interaction between localized Mn spins and itinerant holes. The magnetization of the central disk can be controlled fully electrically and it can serve as one bit memory element as part of a logic device. In chapter 7 we discuss the domain wall resistance in (Ga,Mn)As. At the transition from nanobars to central disk we are able to generate 90° and 180° domain walls and measure their resistance. The results presented from chapter 5 to 7 combined with the preexisting ultracompact (Ga,Mn)As-based memory cell of ref. [Papp 07c] are the building blocks needed to realize a fully functioning programmable logic device. The work of ref. [Papp 07c] makes use of lithographically engineered strain relaxation to produce a structure comprised of two nanobars with mutually orthogonal uniaxial easy axes, connected by a narrow constriction. Measurements showed that the resistance of the constriction depends on the relative orientation of the magnetization in the two bars. The programmable logic device consists of two central disks connected by a small constriction. The magnetization of the two central disks are used as the input bits and the constriction serves as the output during the logic operation. The concept is introduced in the end of chapter 6 and as an example for a logic operation an XOR gate is presented. The functionality of the programmable logic scheme presented here can be straightforwardly extended to produce multipurpose functional elements, where the given geometry can be used as various different computational elements depending on the number of input bits and the chosen electrical addressing. The realization of such a programmable logic device is shown in chapter 8, where we see that the constriction indeed can serve as a output of the logic operation because its resistance is dependent on the relative magnetization state of both disks. Contrary to ref. [Papp 07c], where the individual magnetic elements connected to the constriction only have two non-volatile magnetic states, each disk in our scheme connected to the constriction has four non-volatile magnetic states. Switching the magnetization of a central disk with an electrical current does not only change the TAMR read-out of the respective disk, it also changes the resistance of the constriction. The resistance polar plot of the constriction maps the relative magnetization states of the individual disks. The presented device design serves as an all-electrical, all-semiconductor logic element. It combines a memory cell and data processing in a single monolithic paradigm.},
subject = {Magnetischer Halbleiter},
language = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Bach2006,
author = {Bach, Peter},
title = {Growth and characterization of NiMnSb-based heterostructures},
url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-17771},
school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
year = {2006},
abstract = {In this work heterostructures based on the half-Heusler alloy NiMnSb have been fabricated and characterized. NiMnSb is a member of the half-metallic ferromagnets, which exhibit an electron spin-polarization of 100\% at the Fermi-level. For fabrication of these structures InP substrates with surface orientations of (001),(111)A and (111)B have been used. The small lattice mismatch of NiMnSb to InP allows for pseudomorphic layers, the (111) orientation additionally makes the formation of a half-metallic interface possible. For the growth on InP(001), procedures for the substrate preparation, growth of the lattice matched (In,Ga)As buffer layer and of the NiMnSb layer have been developed. The effect of flux-ratios and substrate temperatures on the MBE growth of the buffer as well as of the NiMnSb layer have been investigated and the optimum conditions have been pointed out. NiMnSb grows in the layer-by-layer Frank-van der Merwe growth mode, which can be seen by the intensity oscillations of the RHEED specular spot during growth. RHEED and LEED measurements show a flat surface and a well-defined surface reconstruction. High resolution x-ray measurements support this statement, additionally they show a high crystalline quality. Measurements of the lateral and the vertical lattice constant of NiMnSb films on (001) oriented substrates show that layers above a thickness of 20nm exhibit a pseudomorphic as well as a relaxed part in the same layer. Whereas layers around 40nm show partly relaxed partitions, these partitions are totally relaxed for layers above 100nm. However, even these layers still have a pseudomorphic part. Depth-dependent x-ray diffraction experiments prove that the relaxed part of the samples is always on top of the pseudomorphic part. The formation and propagation of defects in these layers has been investigated by TEM. The defects nucleate early during growth and spread until they form a defect network at a thickness of about 40nm. These defects are not typical misfit dislocations but rather antiphase boundaries which evolve in the Mn/Sb sublattice of the NiMnSb system. Dependent on the thickness of the NiMnSb films different magnetic anisotropies can be found. For layers up to 15nm and above 25nm a clear uniaxial anisotropy can be determined, while the layers with thicknesses in between show a fourfold anisotropy. Notably the easy axis for the thin layers is perpendicular to the easy axis observed for the thick layers. Thin NiMnSb layers show a very good magnetic homogeneity, as can be seen by the very small FMR linewidth of 20Oe at 24GHz. However, the increase of the linewidth with increasing thickness shows that the extrinsic damping gets larger for thicker samples which is a clear indication for magnetic inhomogeneities introduced by crystalline defects. Also, the magnetic moment of thick NiMnSb is reduced compared to the theoretically expected value. If a antiferromagnetic material is deposited on top of the NiMnSb, a clear exchange biasing of the NiMnSb layer can be observed. In a further step the epitaxial layers of the semiconductor ZnTe have been grown on these NiMnSb layers, which enables the fabrication of NiMnSb/ZnTe/NiMnSb TMR structures. These heterostructures are single crystalline and exhibit a low surface and interface roughness as measured by x-ray reflectivity. Magnetic measurements of the hysteresis curves prove that both NiMnSb layers in these heterostructures can switch separately, which is a necessary requirement for TMR applications. If a NiMn antiferromagnet is deposited on top of this structure, the upper NiMnSb layer is exchange biased by the antiferromagnet, while the lower one is left unaffected. Furthermore the growth of NiMnSb on (111) oriented substrates has been investigated. For these experiments, InP substrates with a surface orientation of (111)A and (111)B were used, which were miscut by 1 to 2° from the exact orientation to allow for smoother surfaces during growth. Both the (In, Ga)As buffer as well as the NiMnSb layer show well defined surface reconstructions during growth. X-ray diffraction experiments prove the single crystalline structure of the samples. However, neither for the growth on (111)A nor on (111)B a perfectly smooth surface could be obtained during growth, which can be attributed to the formation of pyramid-like facets evolving as a result of the atomic configuration at the surface. A similar relaxation behavior as NiMnSb layers on (001) oriented InP could not be observed. RHEED and x-ray diffraction measurements show that above a thickness of about 10nm the NiMnSb layer begins to relax, but remnants of pseudomorphic parts could not be found. Magnetic measurements show that the misorientation of the substrate crystal has a strong influence on the magnetic anisotropies of NiMnSb(111) samples. In all cases a uniaxial anisotropy could be observed. The easy axis is always aligned parallel to the direction of the miscut of the substrate.},
subject = {Nickelverbindungen},
language = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Kehl2010,
author = {Kehl, Christian},
title = {Magnetic soft mode behaviour investigated via Multi-Spin Flip Raman Spectroscopy on near surface Cd1-xMnxTe/Cd1-yMgyTe Quantum wells},
url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-56088},
school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
year = {2010},
abstract = {In the context of the ongoing discussion about a carrier-induced ferromagnetic phase transition in diluted-magnetic II-VI semiconductors (DMS), theoretical studies on coherent dynamics of localized spins coupled with a two-dimensional hole gas (2DHG) in DMS quantum wells (QWs) were done by K.V. KAVOKIN. His key for studying the exchange interaction of the localized spin ensemble (e.g. Mn2+) with the 2DHG is the Larmor frequency of the localized Mn-ion spins and thus their Mn-g-factor. It was shown that the 2DHG affects a time evolution of the (Mn-) spin system in an in-plane magnetic field resulting in the reduction of its Larmor frequency (Mn-g-factor) under the influence of an oscillating effective field of holes. This is called magnetic soft mode (behaviour). The experimental access for demonstrating this Mn-g-factor reduction with increasing hole concentration is the method of Multi-Spin-Flip (SF) Raman scattering combined with the variation of the carrier concentration by photo-excitation with an additional light source (two-colour experiment). The main motivation for this thesis was the experimental confirmation of the theoretically predicted magnetic soft mode and the analysis of its dependence on the hole-concentration and external B-field, as well as its disappearance with increasing sample temperature. For that purpose, CdMnTe/CdMgTe QWs (Mn: 0.6\%, 1.0\%) positioned close to the sample surface (13-19nm) were investigated in an in-plane applied external magnetic field (up to 4.5T in Voigt-geometry) via a two-colour experiment i.e. using two light sources. This allows the spin excitation of Mn-ions by simultaneously tuning the hole-concentration towards the ferromagnetic phase transition by photo-generated carriers. Thus, one tuneable laser is responsible for resonant below-barrier excitation as a probe for Multi-SF Raman scattering. The other laser excites photo-generated carriers from above barrier (2.41eV) for tuning the hole concentration in the QW. Positioning the QW close to the sample surface causes a surface-induced p-doping of the QW (intrinsic hole concentration in the QW) and enables the active tuning of the hole concentration by photo-generated carriers due to different tunnelling behaviour of electrons and holes from the QW to the surface. The Mn-g-factor was decreased by quasi-continuously increasing the above-barrier illumination (and thus the hole concentration), while the below-barrier excitation (Multi-PR probe) was kept at a constant low power. This results in a Mn-g-factor reduction starting from its atomic value g=2.01 to lowest evaluated Mn-g-factor in this thesis g=1.77. This is a magnetic softening of 12\%. Apart from the general magnetic soft mode behaviour at low temperatures, one of the main experimental results in this thesis is the confirmation of the theoretical prediction that the magnetic soft mode behaviour in the external B-field does not only depend on the carrier concentration but also on the B-field strength itself. An additional aspect is the temperature dependence of the magnetic soft mode. The Mn-g-factor decrease is suppressed with increasing temperature almost reaching the atomic Mn-g-factor at 4.2K (g=1.99). This behaviour is due to the T-induced weakening of the transverse 2DHG spin susceptibility. The results of the investigations concerning the cap layer thickness impact on the QW carrier characteristics were investigated in the cap thickness range of 13nm to 19nm. The cap thickness configures on the one hand the intrinsic hole concentration of the QW ("2DHG offset") due to the surface-induced p-doping and sets the "starting point" for the Mn-g-factor reduction. On the other hand the cap thickness determines the probability of electron tunnelling to the surface and thus the efficiency of the hole tuning by light. The latter is the criterion for the range of Mn-g-factor reduction by light. This two dependences were pointed out by the photo-generated hole influence on the QW PL-spectra which results in tuning the exciton-trion ratio. In summary both mechanisms are of relevance for the hole tuning and thus for the magnetic soft-mode behaviour. The mechanism of tunnelling time prevails at small cap layer thicknesses while the surface-induced p-doping plays the major role for larger cap thicknesses (> 25nm). In conclusion, the presented method in this thesis is a sensitive tool to study the dynamics of the spin excitations and the paramagnetic susceptibility in the vicinity of the hole-induced ferromagnetic phase transition.},
subject = {Raman-Spektroskopie},
language = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Geissler2003,
author = {Geißler, Jochen},
title = {Magnetische Streuung an Grenz- und Viellagenschichten},
url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-8024},
school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
year = {2003},
abstract = {Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wurde eine neuartige Methode entwickelt, mit der es m{\"o}glich ist, Magnetisierungsverl{\"a}ufe ausgew{\"a}hlter Schichten und Grenzfl{\"a}chen in d{\"u}nnen Schichtsystemen zu bestimmen. Diese Resonante Magnetische R{\"o}ntgenreflektometrie (XRMR: X-ray Resonant Magnetic Reflectometry) kombiniert die Methode der konventionellen R{\"o}ntgenreflektometrie mit resonanten magnetischen Effekten, die an Absorptionskanten magnetischer Atome auftreten. Analog zur herk{\"o}mmlichen Reflektometrie, die Aussagen {\"u}ber Schichtdicken und vertikale Grenzfl{\"a}chenrauhigkeiten zul{\"a}sst, liefert die XRMR das tiefenabh{\"a}ngige magneto-optische Profil der untersuchten magnetischen Schicht. Durch die Aufnahme zweier Reflexionsspektren bei invertierter Helizit{\"a}t des einfallenden R{\"o}ntgenstrahls oder Umkehr der Magnetisierungsrichtung der Probe in der N{\"a}he der Absorptionskante eines magnetischen Elements erh{\"a}lt man als Messsignal das Asymmetrieverh{\"a}ltnis, das die Information {\"u}ber das tiefenabh{\"a}ngige Magnetisierungsprofil der untersuchten Schicht enth{\"a}lt. Zur Anpassung an die gemessene Asymmetrie {\"u}ber ein optisches N{\"a}herungsverfahren ist die Modellierung der optischen Konstanten der magnetischen Schicht oder Grenzfl{\"a}che notwendig, die hierzu in viele d{\"u}nne Einzelschichten k{\"u}nstlich aufgeteilt wird. Wichtig hierbei ist die korrekte Bestimmung der dispersiven und absorptiven Ladungsanteilen des komplexen Brechungsindex durch vorherige Messung des Absorptionskoeffizienten und der Berechnung der Dispersion {\"u}ber die Kramers-Kronig-Relation. XRMR-Experimente wurden an Pt/Co-Schichtsystemen an den Synchrotronstrahlungsquellen HASYLAB/Hamburg und BESSYII/Berlin durchgef{\"u}hrt, um die Anwendbarkeit der Messmethodik im harten und weichen R{\"o}ntgenbereich zu demonstrieren. Durch die intrinsische Elementselektivit{\"a}t resonanter Streuung und die Verst{\"a}rkung magnetischer Effekte durch Interferenzerscheinungen ist es m{\"o}glich, Informationen {\"u}ber sehr kleine induzierte magnetische Momente an der Grenzfl{\"a}che zu einer ferromagnetischen Schicht zu erhalten. Dies konnte bei der Untersuchung einer einzelnen Pt/Co-Bilage gezeigt werden, bei der das Magnetisierungsprofil der Pt-Schicht an der Pt/Co-Grenzfl{\"a}che bestimmt wurde. Im Weiteren konnte durch XRMR-Messungen an einer Serie von einzelnen Pt/Co-Grenz{\"u}berg{\"a}ngen das Zusammenspiel von chemischer Grenzfl{\"a}chenrauhigkeit und induziertem Pt-Magnetisierungsprofil untersucht werden. Wichtig war es, die Einsetzbarkeit der Methode im weichen R{\"o}ntgenbereich zu zeigen, in dem die L2,3 Kanten der 3d-{\"U}bergangsmetalle liegen, die f{\"u}r den Magnetismus eine herausragende Rolle spielen. Hierbei konnte durch Messung an der Co-L3 Kante das Magnetisierungsprofil einer einzelnen Co-Schicht in einer Pt/Co/Cu-Trilage extrahiert werden. Des Weiteren erlaubt die Methode die Aufnahme elementspezifischer Hysteresekurven vergrabener d{\"u}nner Schichten in Schichtsystemen mit hoher Qualit{\"a}t. Das Verfahren ist daher pr{\"a}destiniert zur quantitativen Untersuchung von modernen neuen magnetoelektronischen Komponenten wie GMR- und TMR-Sensoren, MRAM's oder Halbleiterstrukturen der viel versprechenden „Spintronic". Es k{\"o}nnen bei derartigen Systemen Grenzfl{\"a}chenph{\"a}nomene vergrabener Schichten zerst{\"o}rungsfrei untersucht werden und im Weiteren auch Themen, die eher der Grundlagenforschung zuzuordnen sind, wie induzierter Grenzfl{\"a}chenmagnetismus oder auch oszillatorische Austauschkopplung in Zukunft quantitativ und elementselektiv behandelt werden.},
subject = {D{\"u}nne Schicht},
language = {de}
}