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The material system of interest in this thesis are II-VI-semiconductors. The first part of this thesis focuses on the formation of self-assembled CdSe-based quantum dots (QD) on ZnSe. The lattice constants of ZnSe and CdSe differ as much as about 7\% and therefore a CdSe layer grown on top of ZnSe experiences a huge strain. The aspired strain relief constitutes in the self-assembly of QDs (i.e. a roughened layer structure). Additionally, this QD layer is intermixed with Zn as this is also a possibility to decrease the strain in the layer. For CdSe on ZnSe, in Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE), various QD growth procedures were analysed with respect to the resulting Cd-content of the non-stoichiometric ternary (Zn,Cd)Se. The evaluation was performed by Raman Spectroscopy as the phonon frequency depends on the Cd-content. The second part of the thesis emphasis on the interface properties of n-ZnSe on n-GaAs. Different growth start procedures of the ZnSe epilayer may lead to different interface configurations with characteristic band-offsets and carrier depletion layer widths. The analysis is mainly focused on the individual depletion layer widths in the GaAs and ZnSe. This non-destructive analysis is performed by evaluating the Raman signal which comprises of phonon scattering from the depleted regions and coupled plasmon-phonon scattering from regions with free carriers.
This thesis describes the epitaxial growth of the Half-Heusler alloy NiMnSb by molecular beam epitaxy. Its structural and magnetic properties are controlled by tuning the composition and the resulting small deviation from stoichiometry. The magnetic in-plane anisotropy depends on the Mn concentration of the sample and can be controlled in both strength and orientation. This control of the magnetic anisotropy allows for growing NiMnSb layers of a given thickness and magnetic properties as requested for the design of NiMnSb-based devices. The growth and characterization of NiMnSb-ZnTe-NiMnSb heterostructures is presented - such heterostructures form an all-NiMnSb based spin-valve and are a promising basis for spin torque devices.
In this work the epitaxial growth and characterization of the half-metallic ferromagnet NiMnSb was presented. NiMnSb crystallizes in the C1b structure which is similar to the zinc blende structure from widely used III-V semiconductors. One special property of NiMnSb is the theoretical 100% spin-polarization at the Fermi edge. This makes it a perfect candidate for spintronic experiments and the material of choice for building novel spintronic devices. Another important topic in this work were the magnetic properties of NiMnSb, especially the low magnetic damping of the grown thin films. All grown layers were fabricated with the technique of MBE. The layer stacks for all different experiments and devices were grown on InP substrate in (001) or (111)B orientation. Before the NiMnSb layer a buffer layer of undoped (In,Ga)As was grown. Additional for some samples on InP(111)B, a Si doped (In,Ga)As layer was grown on top of the undoped (In,Ga)As layer. The dopant concentration of this n-doped layer was determined by ETCH-CV. All layers were investigated by structural and the NiMnSb layer additional by magnetic properties. For the structural investigation the in-situ technique RHEED and ex-situ tool HRXRD were used. RHEED observations showed a good quality of the grown buffer and half-metallic ferromagnet layers on both orientations. These results were strengthened by the HRXRD measurement. The vertical lattice constant could be determined. The received value of a(NiMnSb_vertical) = 5.925 Å for NiMnSb on InP(001) is in good agreement to the value a(NiMnSb_Lit) = 5.903 Å found in literature [Cas55]. For NiMnSb on InP(111)B a vertical lattice constant of a(NiMnSb_vertikal) = 6.017 Å could be determined. The horizontal lattice constant of the buffer and the half-metallic ferromagnet layer could be determined as the same of the substrate. For NiMnSb this conclusion is only valid up to a thickness of ≈40nm. To increase this maximum thickness, NiMnSb samples were grown on InP(001) substrates and capped with Ti/Au layers. Afterwards a reciprocal space map of the (533) reflex was drawn with GIXRD at the synchrotron beamline BW2 of HASYLAB [Kum07]. It has been shown that the critical thickness is more than doubled by depositing a Ti/Au capping directly after growth of NiMnSb without breaking the ultrahigh vacuum (UHV). The magnetic properties were determined with FMR experiments and SQUID measurements. The received magnetic damping parameter α from a 40nm thick NiMnSb layer on InP(001) could be determined to 3.19e−3 along [1-10]. The resulting line width of our NiMnSb layers on InP(001) is more than 4.88 times smaller than measured before [Hei04]. Another result is the direction dependence of the damping. It has been measured that the difference of the damping is changed by more than 42% when rotating the applied field by 45° from [1-10] to [100].With SQUID we measured a saturation magnetization of a 40nm thick NiMnSb layer as 4µB. NiMnSb layers on InP(111)B substrate where also measured with FMR with a surprising result. These layers not only showed a decreasing in the anisotropy field with increasing thickness but also an uniaxial anisotropy. This behaviour can be explained with defects on these samples. With an AFM triangle-like defects were measured. These defects originated from the buffer layer and influenced the magnetic properties. Another part of this work is dedicated to the behaviour of NiMnSb at temperatures around 80K. With our samples, no phase transition can be observed in the data of the Hall, anomalous Hall term and resistivity. The last part of this work discusses different spintronic devices build with our NiMnSb layers. In a first device the magnetization acts on the current. This Giant Magneto Resistance (GMR) device consisted of InP:S(001) - 180nm undoped (In,Ga)As - 40nm NiMnSb - 10nm Cu - 6nm NiFe - 10nm Ru in current perpendicular to plane (CPP) geometry. We received a Magneto-Resistance-Ratio of 3.4%. In a second device the current acts on the magnetization and makes use of the spin torque phenomena. This so called Spin Torque Oscillator (STO) emitted frequencies in the GHz range (13.94GHz - 14.1GHz). The last fabricated device is based on the magnetic vortex phenomena. For switching the core polarity the gyrotropic frequencies f + = 254MHz f − = 217MHz and a total static magnetic field of only mµ0H = 65mT were necessary. The reversal efficiency has been determined as better than 99% [Lou09].
This work studies the fundamental connection between lattice strain and magnetic anisotropy in the ferromagnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)As. The first chapters provide a general introduction into the material system and a detailed description of the growth process by molecular beam epitaxy. A finite element simulation formalism is developed to model the strain distribution in (Ga,Mn)As nanostructures is introduced and its predictions verified by high-resolution x-ray diffraction methods. The influence of lattice strain on the magnetic anisotropy is explained by an magnetostatic model. A possible device application is described in the closing chapter.
Albeit of high technological import, epitaxial self-assembly of CdSe/ZnSe QDs is non-trivial and still not clearly understood. The origin and attributes of these QDs are significantly different from those of their III-V and group-IV counterparts. For III-V and group-IV heterosystems, QD-formation is assigned to the Stranski Krastanow (SK) transition, wherein elastic relaxation of misfit strain leads to the formation of coherent three-dimensional (3D) islands, from a supercritically strained two-dimensional (2D) epilayer. Unfortunately, this phenomenon is inconspicuous for the CdSe/ZnSe heterosystem. Well-defined 3D islands are not readily formed in conventional molecular beam epitaxial (MBE) growth of CdSe on ZnSe. Consequently, several alternative approaches have been adopted to induce/enhance formation of QDs. This thesis systematically investigates three such alternative approaches, along with conventional MBE, with emphasis on the formation-mechanism of QDs, and optimization of their morphological and optical attributes. It is shown here that no distinct 3D islands are formed in MBE growth of CdSe on ZnSe. The surface of the CdSe layer represents a rough 2D layer, characterized by a dense array of shallow (<1nm) abutting mounds. In capped samples, the CdSe deposit forms an inhomogeneous CdZnSe quantum well (QW)-like structure. This ternary QW consists of local Cd-rich inclusions, which confine excitons three-dimensionally, and act as QDs. The density of such QDs is very high (~ 1012 cm-2). The QDs defined by the composition inhomogeneities of the CdZnSe QW presumably originate from the shallow mounds of the uncapped CdSe surface. By a technique wherein a CdSe layer is grown at a low temperature (TG = 230 °C) and subsequently annealed at a significantly higher temperature (TA =310 °C), tiny but distinct 3D islands are formed. In this work, the mechanism underlying the formation of these islands is reported. While the CdSe deposit forms a quasi-two-dimensional (quasi-2D) layer at TG = 230 °C, subsequent annealing at TA = 310 °C results in a thermally activated “up-climb” of adatoms onto two-dimensional clusters (or precursors) and concomitant nucleation of 3D islands. The areal density of QDs, achieved by this technique, is at least a decade lower than that typical for conventional MBE growth. It is demonstrated that further reduction is possible by delaying the temperature ramp-up to TA. In the second technique, formation of distinct islands is demonstrated by deposition of amorphous selenium (a-Se) onto a 2D CdSe epilayer at room temperature and its subsequent desorption at a higher temperature (TD = 230 °C). Albeit the self-assembled islands are large, they are severely truncated during subsequent capping with ZnSe, presumably due to segregation of Cd and Zn-alloying of the islands. The segregation phenomenon is analyzed in this work and correlated to the optical properties of the QDs. Additionally, very distinct vertical correlation of QDs in QD-superlattices, wherein the first QD-layer is grown by this technique and the subsequent ones by migration enhanced epitaxy (MEE), is reported. The process steps of the third variant technique, developed in course of this work, are very similar to those of the previous one-the only alteration being the substitution of selenium with tellurium as the cap-forming-material. This leads not only to large alteration of the morphological and optical attributes of the QDs, but also to formation of unique self-assembled island-patterns. Oriented dashes, straight and buckled chains of islands, and aligned island-pairs are formed, depending on the thickness of the Te-cap layer. The islands are partially alloyed with Te and emit luminescence at very low energies (down to 1.7 eV at room temperature). The Te cap layer undergoes (poly)crystallization during temperature ramp-up (from room temperature to TD) for desorption. Here, it is shown that the self-assembled patterns of the island-ensembles are determined by the pattern of the grain boundaries of the polycrystalline Te layer. Based on an understanding of the mechanism of pattern formation, a simple and “clean” method for controlled positioning of individual QDs and QD-based extended nanostructures, is proposed in this work. The studies carried out in the framework of this thesis provide not only a deeper insight into the microscopic processes governing the heteroepitaxial self-assembly of CdSe/ZnSe(001) QDs, but also concrete approaches to achieve, optimize, and control several technologically-important features of QD-ensembles. Reduction and control of QD-areal-density, pronounced vertical correlation of distinctly-defined QDs in QD-superlattices, and self-assembly of QD-based extended structures, as demonstrated in this work, might turn out to be beneficial for envisioned applications in information-, and communication-technologies.
This thesis describes the growth and characterization of epitaxial MnSi thin films on Si substrates. The interest in this material system stems from the rich magnetic phase diagram resulting from the noncentrosymmetric B20 crystal structure. Here neighboring spins prefer a tilted relative arrangement in contrast to ferro- and antiferromagnets, which leads to a helical ground state where crystal and spin helix chirality are linked [IEM+85]. This link makes the characterization and control of the crystal chirality the main goal of this thesis.
After a brief description of the material properties and applied methods, the thesis itself is divided into four main parts. In the first part the advancement of the MBE growth process of MnSi on Si\((111)\) substrate as well as the fundamental structural characterization are described. Here the improvement of the substrate interface by an adjusted substrate preparation process is demonstrated, which is the basis for well ordered flat MnSi layers. On this foundation the influence of Mn/Si flux ratio and substrate temperature on the MnSi layer growth is investigated via XRD and clear boundaries to identify the optimal growth conditions are determined. The nonstoichiometric phases outside of this optimal growth window are identified as HMS and Mn\(_5\)Si\(_3\).
Additionally, a regime at high substrate temperatures and low Mn flux is discovered, where MnSi islands are growing incorporated in a Si layer, which could be interesting for further investigations as a size confinement can change the magnetic phase diagram [DBS+18]. XRD measurements demonstrate the homogeneity of the grown MnSi layers over most of the 3 inch wafer diameter and a small \(\omega\)-FWHM of about 0.02° demonstrates the high quality of the layers. XRD and TEM measurements also show that relaxation of the layers happens via misfit dislocations at the interface to the substrate.
The second part of the thesis is concerned with the crystal chirality. Here azimuthal \(\phi\)-scans of asymmetric XRD reflections reveal twin domains with a \(\pm\)30° rotation to the substrate. These twin domains seem to consist of left and right-handed MnSi, which are connected by a mirror operation at the \((\bar{1}10)\) plane. For some of the asymmetric XRD reflections this results in different intensities for the different twin domains, which reveals that one of the domains is rotated +30° and the other is rotated -30°. From XRD and TEM measurements an equal volume fraction of both domains is deduced. Different mechanisms to suppress these twin domains are investigated and successfully achieved with the growth on chiral Si surfaces, namely Si\((321)\) and Si\((531)\). Azimuthal \(\phi\)-scans of asymmetric XRD reflections demonstrate a suppression of up to 92%. The successful twin suppression is an important step in the use of MnSi for the proposed spintronics applications with skyrmions as information carriers, as discussed in the introduction.
Because of this achievement, the third part of the thesis on the magnetic properties of the MnSi thin films is not only concerned with the principal behavior, but also with the difference between twinned and twin suppressed layers. Magnetometry measurements are used to demonstrate, that the MnSi layers behave principally as expected from the literature. The analysis of saturation and residual magnetization hints to the twin suppression on Si\((321)\) and Si\((531)\) substrates and further investigations with more samples can complete this picture. For comparable layers on Si\((111)\), Si\((321)\) and Si\((531)\) the Curie-Weiss temperature is identical within 1 K and the critical field within 0.1 T.
Temperature dependent magnetoresistivity measurements also demonstrate the expected \(T^2\) behavior not only on Si\((111)\) but also on Si\((321)\) substrates. This demonstrates the successful growth of MnSi on Si\((321)\) and Si\((531)\) substrates. The latter measurements also reveal a residual resistivity of less then half for MnSi on Si\((321)\) in comparison to Si\((111)\). This can be explained with the reduced number of domain boundaries demonstrating the successful suppression of one of the twin domains. The homogeneity of the residual resistivity as well as the charge carrier density over a wide area of the Si\((111)\) wafer is also demonstrated with these measurements as well as Hall effect measurements.
The fourth part shows the AMR and PHE of MnSi depending on the angle between in plane current and magnetic field direction with respect to the crystal direction. This was proposed as a tool to identify skyrmions [YKT+15]. The influence of the higher C\(_{3\mathrm{v}}\) symmetry of the twinned system instead of the C\(_3\) symmetry of a B20 single crystal is demonstrated. The difference could serve as a useful additional tool to prove the twin suppression on the chiral substrates. But this is only possible for rotations with specific symmetry surfaces and not for the studied unsymmetrical Si\((321)\) surface. Measurements for MnSi layers on Si\((111)\) above the critical magnetic field demonstrate the attenuation of AMR and PHE parameters for increasing resistivity, as expected from literature [WC67]. Even if a direct comparison to the parameters on Si\((321)\) is not possible, the higher values of the parameters on Si\((321)\) can be explained considering the reduced charge carrier scattering from domain boundaries. Below the critical magnetic field, which would be the region where a skyrmion lattice could be expected, magnetic hysteresis complicates the analysis. Only one phase transition at the critical magnetic field can be clearly observed, which leaves the existence of a skyrmion lattice in thin epitaxial MnSi layers open.
The best method to solve this question seems to be a more direct approach in the form of Lorentz-TEM, which was also successfully used to visualize the skyrmion lattice for thin plates of bulk MnSi [TYY+12]. For the detection of in plane skyrmions, lamellas would have to be prepared for a side view, which seems in principle possible.
The demonstrated successful twin suppression for MnSi on Si\((321)\) and Si\((531)\) substrates may also be applied to other material systems.
Suppressing the twinning in FeGe on Si\((111)\) would lead to a single chirality skyrmion lattice near room temperature [HC12]. This could bring the application of skyrmions as information carriers in spintronics within reach.
Glossary:
MBE Molecular Beam Epitaxy
XRD X-Ray Diffraction
HMS Higher Manganese Silicide
FWHM Full Width Half Maximum
TEM Tunneling Electron Microscopy
AMR Anisotropic MagnetoResistance
PHE Planar Hall Effect
Bibliography:
[IEM+85] M. Ishida, Y. Endoh, S. Mitsuda, Y. Ishikawa, and M. Tanaka. Crystal Chirality and Helicity of the Helical Spin Density Wave in MnSi. II. Polarized Neutron Diffraction. Journal of the Physical Society of Japan, 54(8):2975, 1985.
[DBS+18] B. Das, B. Balasubramanian, R. Skomski, P. Mukherjee, S. R. Valloppilly, G. C. Hadjipanayis, and D. J. Sellmyer. Effect of size confinement on skyrmionic properties of MnSi nanomagnets. Nanoscale, 10(20):9504, 2018.
[YKT+15] T. Yokouchi, N. Kanazawa, A. Tsukazaki, Y. Kozuka, A. Kikkawa, Y. Taguchi, M. Kawasaki, M. Ichikawa, F. Kagawa, and Y. Tokura. Formation of In-plane Skyrmions in Epitaxial MnSi Thin Films as Revealed by Planar Hall Effect. Journal of the Physical Society of Japan, 84(10):104708, 2015.
[WC67] R. H. Walden and R. F. Cotellessa. Magnetoresistance of Nickel-Copper Single-Crystal Thin Films. Journal of Applied Physics, 38(3):1335, 1967.
[TYY+12] A. Tonomura, X. Yu, K. Yanagisawa, T. Matsuda, Y. Onose, N. Kanazawa, H. S. Park, and Y. Tokura. Real-Space Observation of Skyrmion Lattice in Helimagnet MnSi Thin Samples. Nano Letters, 12(3):1673, 2012.
[HC12] S. X. Huang and C. L. Chien. Extended Skyrmion Phase in Epitaxial FeGe(111) Thin Films. Physical Review Letters, 108(26):267201, 2012.
Molecular Beam Epitaxy and Characterization of Bi-Based V\(_2\)VI\(_3\) Topological Insulators
(2016)
The present thesis is addressed to the growth and characterization of Bi-based V2VI3 topological insulators (TIs). The TIs were grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on differently passivated Si(111) substrates, as well as InP(111) substrates. This allows the study of the influence of the substrate on the structural and electrical properties of the TIs.
The Bi2Se3 layers show a change of mosaicity-tilt and -twist for growth on the differently prepared Si(111) substrates, as well as a significant increase of crystalline quality for growth on the lateral nearly lattice matched InP(111). The rocking curve FWHMs observed for thick layers grown on InP are comparable to these of common zincblende layers, which are close to the resolution limit of standard high resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD) setups. The unexpected high structural crystalline quality achieved in this material system is remarkable due to the presence of weak van der Waals bonds between every block of five atomic layers, i.e. a quintuple layer (QL), in growth direction.
In addition to the mosaicity also twin domains, present in films of the V2VI3 material system, are studied. The twin defects are observed in Bi2Se3 layers grown on Si(111) and lattice matched InP(111) suggesting that the two dimensional surface lattice of the substrates can not determine the stacking order ABCABC... or ACBACB... in locally separated growth seeds. Therefore the growth on misoriented and rough InP(111) is analyzed.
The rough InP(111) with its facets within a hollow exceeding the height of a QL is able to provide its stacking information to the five atomic layers within a QL. By varying the roughness of the InP substrate surface, due to thermal annealing, the influence on the twinning within the layer is confirmed resulting in a complete suppression of twin domains on rough InP(111).
Focusing on the electrical properties of the Bi2Se3 films, the increased structural quality for films grown on lattice matched flat InP(111)B results in a marginal reduction of carrier density by about 10% compared to the layers grown on H-passivated Si(111), whereas the suppression of twin domains for growth on rough InP(111)B resulted in a reduction of carrier density by an order of magnitude. This implies, that the twin domains are a main crystal defect responsible for the high carrier density in the presented Bi2Se3 thin films.
Besides the binary Bi2Se3 also alloys with Sb and Te are fabricated to examine the influence of the compound specific point defects on the carrier density. Therefore growth series of the ternary materials Bi2Te(3-y)Se(y), Bi(2-x)Sb(x)Se3, and Bi(2-x)Sb(x)Te3, as well as the quaternary Bi(2-x)Sb(x)Te(3-y)Se(y) are studied.
To further reduce the carrier density of twin free Bi2Se3 layers grown on InP(111)B:Fe a series of Bi(2-x)Sb(x)Se3 alloys were grown under comparable growth conditions. This results in a reduction of the carrier density with a minimum in the composition range of about x=0.9-1.0.
The Bi(2-x)Sb(x)Te3 alloys exhibit a pn-transition, due to the dominating n-type and p-type point defects in its binary compounds, which is determined to reduce the bulk carrier density enabling the study the TI surface states. This pn-transition plays a significant role in realizing predicted applications and exotic effects, such as the quantum anomalous Hall effect.
The magnetic doping of topological insulators with transition metals is studied by incorporating Cr and V in the alloy Bi(2-x)Sb(x)Te3 by codeposition. The preferential incorporation of Cr on group-V sites is confirmed by EDX and XRD, whereas the incorporation of Cr reduces the crystalline quality of the layer. Magnetotransport measurements of the Cr-doped TIs display an anomalous Hall effect confirming the realization of a magnetic TI thin film. The quantum anomalous Hall effect is observed in V-doped Bi(2-x)Sb(x)Te3, where the V-doping results in higher Curie temperatures, as well as higher coercive fields compared to the Cr-doping of the TIs.
Moreover the present thesis contributes to the understanding of the role of the substrate concerning the crystalline quality of van der Waals bonded layers, such as the V2VI3 TIs, MoS2 and WoTe2. Furthermore, the fabrication of the thin film TIs Bi(2-x)Sb(x)Te(3-y)Se(y) in high crystalline quality serves as basis to explore the physics of topological insulators.
The present thesis studies the (Ga,Mn)As material in terms of optimization of very thin (4 nm) (Ga,Mn)As layers, epitaxially fabricated by the molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) technology. First of all, the ferromagnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)As with its structural, magnetic and electrical properties is introduced. The influences of point defects, interface and surface effects on bulk and thin (Ga,Mn)As layers are discussed by simplified self-consistent band alignment calculations. The experimental part is divided in three blocks: The first part studies the influence of epitaxial growth parameter conditions on electrical and magnetic properties of bulk (70 nm) (Ga,Mn)As layers. The second part introduces an alternative, parabolical Mn doping-profile instead of a 4 nm layer with a homogeneous Mn doping-profile. Improved properties of the parabolic layer have been observed as well as comparable magnetic and electrical properties to bulk (Ga,Mn)As layers, both with a Mn content of 4%. MBE growth parameters for the (Ga,Mn)As layers with a parabolically graded Mn profile and lowered nominal Mn content of 2.5% have been investigated. A narrow growth window has been found in which low-temperature (LT) layer properties are improved. The last part of this thesis presents an application of magnetic anisotropy control of a bulk (Ga,Mn)As layer.
The subject of this thesis is the fabrication and characterization of magnetic topological
insulator layers of (V,Bi,Sb)\(_2\)Te\(_3\) exhibiting the quantum anomalous Hall
effect. A major task was the experimental realization of the quantum anomalous
Hall effect, which is only observed in layers with very specific structural,
electronic and magnetic properties. These properties and their influence on the
quantum anomalous Hall effect are analyzed in detail.
First, the optimal conditions for the growth of pure Bi\(_2\)Te\(_3\) and Sb\(_2\)Te\(_3\) crystal
layers and the resulting structural quality are studied. The crystalline quality of
Bi\(_2\)Te\(_3\) improves significantly at higher growth temperatures resulting in a small
mosaicity-tilt and reduced twinning defects. The optimal growth temperature is
determined as 260\(^{\circ}\)C, low enough to avoid desorption while maintaining a high
crystalline quality.
The crystalline quality of Sb\(_2\)Te\(_3\) is less dependent on the growth temperature.
Temperatures below 230\(^{\circ}\)C are necessary to avoid significant material desorption,
though. Especially for the nucleation on Si(111)-H, a low sticking coefficient is
observed preventing the coalescence of islands into a homogeneous layer.
The influence of the substrate type, miscut and annealing sequence on the growth
of Bi\(_2\)Te\(_3\) layers is investigated. The alignment of the layer changes depending on
the miscut angle and annealing sequence: Typically, layer planes align parallel to
the Si(111) planes. This can enhance the twin suppression due to transfer of the
stacking order from the substrate to the layer at step edges, but results in a step
bunched layer morphology. For specific substrate preparations, however, the layer
planes are observed to align parallel to the surface plane. This alignment avoids
displacement at the step edges, which would cause anti-phase domains. This results
in narrow Bragg peaks in XRD rocking curve scans due to long-range order in
the absence of anti-phase domains. Furthermore, the use of rough Fe:InP(111):B
substrates leads to a strong reduction of twinning defects and a significantly reduced
mosaicity-twist due to the smaller lattice mismatch.
Next, the magnetically doped mixed compound V\(_z\)(Bi\(_{1−x}\)Sb\(_x\))\(_{2−z}\)Te\(_3\) is studied in
order to realize the quantum anomalous Hall effect. The addition of V and Bi to
Sb\(_2\)Te\(_3\) leads to efficient nucleation on the Si(111)-H surface and a closed, homogeneous
layer. Magneto-transport measurements of layers reveal a finite anomalous
Hall resistivity significantly below the von Klitzing constant. The observation of
the quantum anomalous Hall effect requires the complete suppression of parasitic
bulklike conduction due to defect induced carriers. This can be achieved by optimizing
the thickness, composition and growth conditions of the layers.
The growth temperature is observed to strongly influence the structural quality.
Elevated temperatures result in bigger islands, improved crystallographic orientation
and reduced twinning. On the other hand, desorption of primarily Sb is
observed, affecting the thickness, composition and reproducibility of the layers.
At 190\(^{\circ}\)C, desorption is avoided enabling precise control of layer thickness and
composition of the quaternary compound while maintaining a high structural
quality.
It is especially important to optimize the Bi/Sb ratio in the (V,Bi,Sb)\(_2\)Te\(_3\) layers,
since by alloying n-type Bi\(_2\)Te\(_3\) and p-type Sb\(_2\)Te\(_3\) charge neutrality is achieved at
a specific mixing ratio. This is necessary to shift the Fermi level into the magnetic
exchange gap and fully suppress the bulk conduction. The Sb content x furthermore
influences the in-plane lattice constant a significantly. This is utilized to
accurately determine x even for thin films below 10 nm thickness required for the
quantum anomalous Hall effect. Furthermore, x strongly influences the surface
morphology: with increasing x the island size decreases and the RMS roughness
increases by up to a factor of 4 between x = 0 and x = 1.
A series of samples with x varied between 0.56-0.95 is grown, while carefully
maintaining a constant thickness of 9 nm and a doping concentration of 2 at.% V.
Magneto-transport measurements reveal the charge neutral point around x = 0.86
at 4.2 K. The maximum of the anomalous Hall resistivity of 0.44 h/e\(^2\) is observed
at x = 0.77 close to charge neutrality. Reducing the measurement temperature
to 50 mK significantly increases the anomalous Hall resistivity. Several samples
in a narrow range of x between 0.76-0.79 show the quantum anomalous Hall effect
with the Hall resistivity reaching the von Klitzing constant and a vanishing
longitudinal resistivity. Having realized the quantum anomalous Hall effect as the
first group in Europe, this breakthrough enabled us to study the electronic and
magnetic properties of the samples in close collaborations with other groups.
In collaboration with the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt high-precision
measurements were conducted with detailed error analysis yielding a relative de-
viation from the von Klitzing constant of (0.17 \(\pm\) 0.25) * 10\(^{−6}\). This is published
as the smallest, most precise value at that time, proving the high quality of the
provided samples. This result paves the way for the application of magnetic topological
insulators as zero-field resistance standards.
Non-local magneto-transport measurements were conducted at 15 mK in close
collaboration with the transport group in EP3. The results prove that transport
happens through chiral edge channels. The detailed analysis of small anomalies in
transport measurements reveals instabilities in the magnetic phase even at 15 mK.
Their time dependent nature indicates the presence of superparamagnetic contributions
in the nominally ferromagnetic phase.
Next, the influence of the capping layer and the substrate type on structural properties
and the impact on the quantum anomalous Hall effect is investigated. To
this end, a layer was grown on a semi-insulating Fe:InP(111)B substrate using the
previously optimized growth conditions. The crystalline quality is improved significantly
with the mosaicity twist reduced from 5.4\(^{\circ}\) to 1.0\(^{\circ}\). Furthermore, a layer
without protective capping layer was grown on Si and studied after providing sufficient
time for degradation. The uncapped layer on Si shows perfect quantization,
while the layer on InP deviates by about 5%. This may be caused by the higher
crystalline quality, but variations in e.g. Sb content cannot be ruled out as the
cause. Overall, the quantum anomalous Hall effect seems robust against changes
in substrate and capping layer with only little deviations.
Furthermore, the dependence of the quantum anomalous Hall effect on the thickness
of the layers is investigated. Between 5-8 nm thickness the material typically
transitions from a 2D topological insulator with hybridized top and bottom surface
states to a 3D topological insulator. A set of samples with 6 nm, 8 nm, and
9 nm thickness exhibits the quantum anomalous Hall effect, while 5 nm and 15 nm
thick layers show significant bulk contributions. The analysis of the longitudinal
and Hall conductivity during the reversal of magnetization reveals distinct differences
between different thicknesses. The 6 nm thick layer shows scaling consistent
with the integer quantum Hall effect, while the 9 nm thick layer shows scaling expected
for the topological surface states of a 3D topological insulator. The unique
scaling of the 9 nm thick layer is of particular interest as it may be a result of
axion electrodynamics in a 3D topological insulator.
Subsequently, the influence of V doping on the structural and magnetic properties
of the host material is studied systematically. Similarly to Bi alloying, increased
V doping seems to flatten the layer surface significantly. With increasing V content,
Te bonding partners are observed to increase simultaneously in a 2:3 ratio
as expected for V incorporation on group-V sites. The linear contraction of the
in-plane and out-of-plane lattice constants with increasing V doping is quantitatively
consistent with the incorporation of V\(^{3+}\) ions, possibly mixed with V\(^{4+}\)
ions, at the group-V sites. This is consistent with SQUID measurements showing
a magnetization of 1.3 \(\mu_B\) per V ion.
Finally, magnetically doped topological insulator heterostructures are fabricated
and studied in magneto-transport. Trilayer heterostructures with a non-magnetic
(Bi,Sb)\(_2\)Te\(_3\) layer sandwiched between two magnetically doped layers are predicted
to host the axion insulator state if the two magnetic layers are decoupled and in
antiparallel configuration. Magneto-transport measurements of such a trilayer heterostructure
with 7 nm undoped (Bi,Sb)\(_2\)Te\(_3\) between 2 nm thick layers doped with
1.5 at.% V exhibit a zero Hall plateau representing an insulating state. Similar results
in the literature were interpreted as axion insulator state, but in the absence
of a measurement showing the antiparallel magnetic orientation other explanations
for the insulating state cannot be ruled out.
Furthermore, heterostructures including a 2 nm thin, highly V doped layer region
show an anomalous Hall effect of opposite sign compared to previous samples. A
dependency on the thickness and position of the doped layer region is observed,
which indicates that scattering at the interfaces causes contributions to the anomalous
Hall effect of opposite sign compared to bulk scattering effects.
Many interesting phenomena in quantum anomalous Hall insulators as well as axion
insulators are still not unambiguously observed. This includes Majorana bound
states in quantum anomalous Hall insulator/superconductor hybrid systems and
the topological magneto-electric effect in axion insulators. The limited observation
temperature of the quantum anomalous Hall effect of below 1 K could be increased
in 3D topological insulator/magnetic insulator heterostructures which utilize the
magnetic proximity effect.
The main achievement of this thesis is the reproducible growth and characterization
of (V,Bi,Sb)2Te3 layers exhibiting the quantum anomalous Hall effect. The
detailed study of the structural requirements of the quantum anomalous Hall effect
and the observation of the unique axionic scaling behavior in 3D magnetic
topological insulator layers leads to a better understanding of the nature of this
new quantum state. The high-precision measurements of the quantum anomalous
Hall effect reporting the smallest deviation from the von Klitzing constant
are an important step towards the realization of a zero-field quantum resistance
standard.