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The present thesis “Hot spin carriers in cold semiconductors” investigates hot carrier effects in low-temperature photoinduced magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) microscopy of electron spins in semiconductor heterostructures. Our studies reveal that the influence of hot photocarriers in magneto-optical pump-probe experiments is twofold.
First, it is commonly assumed that a measurement of the local Kerr rotation using an arbitrary probe wavelength maps the local electron spin polarization. This is the fundamental assumption that underlies the widely used two-color MOKE microscopy technique. Our continuous-wave (cw) spectroscopy experiments demonstrate that this assumption is not correct.
At low lattice temperatures the nonresonant spin excitation by the focused pump laser inevitably leads to a strong heating of the electron system. This heating, in turn, locally modifies the magneto-optical coefficient which links the experimentally observed Kerr rotation to the electron spin polarization. As a consequence, the spin-induced local Kerr rotation is augmented by spin-unrelated changes in the magneto-optical coefficient. A spatially resolved measurement of the Kerr rotation then does not correctly map the electron spin polarization profile.
We demonstrate different ways to overcome this limitation and to correctly measure the electron spin profile. For cw spectroscopy we show how the true local electron spin polarization can be obtained from a quantitative analysis of the full excitonic Kerr rotation spectrum. Alternatively, picosecond MOKE microscopy using a spectrally broad probe laser pulse mitigates hot-carrier effects on the magneto-optical spin detection and allows to directly observe the time-resolved expansion of optically excited electron spin packets in real-space.
Second, we show that hot photocarriers strongly modify the spin diffusion process. Owing to their high kinetic energy, hot carriers greatly enhance the electron spin diffusion coefficient with respect to the intrinsic value of the undisturbed system. Therefore, for steady-state excitation the spin diffusivity is strongly enhanced close to the pump spot center where hot electrons are present. Similarly, for short delays following pulsed excitation the high initial temperature of the electrons leads to a very fast initial expansion of the spin packet which gradually slows as the electrons cool down to the lattice temperature.
While few previous publications have recognized the possible influence of hot carriers on the electron spin transport properties, the present work is the first to directly observe and quantify such hot carrier contributions. We develop models which for steady-state and pulsed excitation quantitatively describe the experimentally observed electron spin diffusion. These models are capable of separating the intrinsic spin diffusivity from the hot electron contribution, and allow to obtain spin transport parameters of the undisturbed system.
We perform extensive cw and time-resolved spectroscopy studies of the lattice temperature dependence of the electron spin diffusion in bulk GaAs. Using our models we obtain a consistent set of parameters for the intrinsic temperature dependence of the electron spin diffusion coefficient and spin relaxation time and the hot carrier contributions which quantitatively describes all experimental observations. Our analysis unequivocally demonstrates that we have, as we believe for the first time, arrived at a coherent understanding of photoinduced low-temperature electron spin diffusion in bulk semiconductors.
Fabrication and characterization of CPP-GMR and spin-transfer torque induced magnetic switching
(2014)
Even though the unique magnetic behavior for ferromagnets has been known for thousands of years, explaining this interesting phenomenon only occurred in the 20th century. It was in 1920, with the discovery of electron spin, that a clear explanation of how ferromagnets achieve their unique magnetic properties came to light. The electron carries an intrinsic electric charge and intrinsic angular momentum. Use of this property in a device was achieved in 1998 when Fert and Gru¨nberg independently found that the resistance of FM/NM/FM trilayer depended on the angle between the magnetization of the two layers. This phenomena which is called giant magnetoresistance (GMR) brought spin transfer into mainstream. This new discovery created a brand new research fi called “spintronics” or “spin based electronics” which exploits the intrinsic spin of electron.
As expected spintronics delivered a new generation of magnetic devices which are currently used in magnetic disk drives and magnetic random access memories (MRAM). The potential advantages of spintronics devices are non-volatility, higher speed, increased data density and low power consumption. GMR devices are already used in industry as magnetic memories and read heads.
The quality of GMR devices can be increased by developing new magnetic materials and also by going down to nanoscale. The desired characteristic properties of these new materials are higher spin polarization, higher curie temperature and better spin filtering. Half-metals are a good candidate for these devices since they are expected to have high polarization. Some examples of half-metals are Half-Heusler alloy, full Heusler alloy and Perovskite or double Perovskite oxides. The devices discussed in this thesis have NiMnSb half-Heusler alloy and permalloy as the ferromagnetic layers separated by Cu as the nonmagnetic layer.
This dissertation includes mainly two parts, fabrication and characterization of nan- opillars. The layer stack used for the fabrication is Ru/Py/Cu/NiMnSb which is grown on an InP substrate with an (In,Ga)As buff by molecule beam epitaxy (MBE). A new method of fabrication using metal mask which has a higher yield of working samples over the previous method (using the resist mask) used in our group is discussed in detail. Also, the advantages of this new method and draw backs of the old method are explained thoroughly (in chapter 3).
The second part (chapters 4 and 5) is focused on electrical measurements and charac- terization of the nanopillar, specially with regard to GMR and spin-transfer torque (STT)
measurements. In chapter 4, the results of current perpendicular the plane giant mag- netoresistance (CPP-GMR) measurements at various temperatures and in-plane magnetic fi are presented. The dependence of CPP-GMR on bias current and shape anisotropy of the device are investigated. Results of these measurements show that the device has strong shape anisotropy.
The following chapter deals with spin-transfer torque induced magnetic switching measurements done on the device. Critical current densities are on the order of 106 A/cm2, which is one order of magnitude smaller than the current industry standards. Our results show that the two possible magnetic configurations of the nanopillar (parallel and anti-parallel) have a strong dependence on the applied in-plane magnetic fi Fi- nally, four magnetic fi regimes based on the stability of the magnetic configuration (P stable, AP stable, both P and AP stable, both P and AP unstable) are identified.
The discovery of the Giant Magneto Resistance (GMR) effect in 1988 by Albert Fert [Baib 88] and Peter Grünberg [Bina 89] led to a rapid development of the field of spintronics and progress in the information technology. Semiconductor based spintronics, which appeared later, offered a possibility to combine storage and processing in a single monolithic device. A direct result is reduced heat dissipation. The observation of the spin Seebeck effect by Ushida [Uchi 08] in 2008 launched an increased interest and encouraged research in the field of spin caloritronics. Spintronics is about the coupling of charge and spin transport. Spin caloritronics studies the interaction between heat and spin currents. In contrast to spintronics and its variety of applications, a particular spin-caloritronic device has not yet been demonstrated. However, many of the novel phenomena in spin caloritronics can be detected in most spintronic devices. Moreover, thermoelectric effects might have a significant influence on spintronic device operation. This will be of particular interest for this work. Additional knowledge on the principle of coupling between heat and spin currents uncovers an alternative way to control heat dissipation and promises new device functionalities.
This thesis aims to further extend the knowledge on thermoelectrics in materials with strong spin-orbit coupling, in this case the prototypical ferromagnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)As. The study is focused on the thermoelectric / thermomagnetic effects at the interface between a normal metal and the ferromagnetic (Ga,Mn)As. In such systems, the different interfaces provide a condition for minimal phonon drag contribution to the thermal effects. This suggests that only band contributions (a diffusion transport regime) to these effects will be measured.
Chapter 2 begins with an introduction on the properties of the studied material system, and basics on thermoelectrics and spin caloritronics. The characteristic anisotropies of the (Ga,Mn)As density of states (DOS) and the corresponding magnetic properties are described. The DOS and magnetic anisotropies have an impact on the transport prop- erties of the material and that results in effects like tunneling anisotropic magnetores- istance (TAMR) [Goul 04]. Some of these effects will be used later as a reference to the results from thermoelectric / thermomagnetic measurements. The Fingerprint tech- nique [Papp 07a] is also described. The method gives an opportunity to easily study the anisotropies of materials in different device geometries.
Chapter 3 continues with the experimental observation of the diffusion thermopower of (Ga,Mn)As / Si-doped GaAs tunnel junction. A device geometry for measuring the diffusion thermopower is proposed. It consists of a Si - doped GaAs heating channel with a Low Temperature (LT) GaAs / (Ga,Mn)As contact (junction) in the middle of the channel. A single Ti / Au contact is fabricated on the top of the junction. For transport characterization, the device is immersed in liquid He. A heating current technique is used to create a temperature difference by local heating of the electron system on the Si:GaAs side. An AC current at low frequency is sent through the channel and it heats the electron population in it, while the junction remains at liquid He temperature (experimentally con- firmed). A temperature difference arises between the heating channel and the (Ga,Mn)As contact. As a result, a thermal (Seebeck) voltage develops across the junction, which we call tunnelling anisotropic magneto thermopower (TAMT), similar to TAMR. TAMT is detected by means of a standard lock-in technique at double the heating current frequency (at 2f ). The Seebeck voltage is found to be linear with the temperature difference. That dependence suggests a diffusion transport regime. Lattice (phonon drag) contribution to the thermovoltage, which is usually highly nonlinear with temperature, is not observed.
The value of the Seebeck coefficient of the junction at 4.2 K is estimated to be 0.5 µV/K.
It is about three orders of magnitude smaller than the previously reported one [Pu 06]. Subsequently, the thermal voltage is studied in external magnetic fields. It is found that the thermopower is anisotropic with the magnetization direction. The anisotropy is explained with the anisotropies of the (Ga,Mn)As contact. Further, switching events are detected in the thermopower when the magnetic field is swept from negative to positive fields. The switchings remind of a spin valve signal and is similar to the results from previous experiments on spin injection using a (Ga,Mn)As contacts in a non-local detection scheme. That shows the importance of the thermoelectric effects and their possible contribution to the spin injection measurements. A polar plot of the collected switching fields for different magnetization angles reveals a biaxial anisotropy and resembles earlier TAMR measurements of (Ga,Mn)As tunnel junction. A simple cartoon model is introduced to describe and estimate the expected thermopower of the studied junction. The model yields a Fermi level inside of the (Ga,Mn)As valence band. Moreover, the model is found to be in good agreement with the experimental results.
The Nernst effect of a (Ga,Mn)As / GaAs tunnel junction is studied in Chapter 4. A modified device geometry is introduced for this purpose. Instead of a single contact on the top of the square junction, four small contacts are fabricated to detect the Nernst signal. A temperature difference is maintained by means of a heating current technique described in Chapter 3. A magnetic field is applied parallel to the device plane. A voltage drop across two opposite contacts is detected at 2f. It appears that a simple cosine function with a parameter the angle between the magnetization and the [100] crystal direction in the (Ga,Mn)As layer manages to describe this signal which is attributed to the anomalous Nernst effect (ANE) of the ferromagnetic contact. Its symmetry is different than the Seebeck effect of the junction. For the temperature range of the thermopower measurements the ANE coefficient has a linear dependence on the temperature difference (∆T). For higher ∆T, a nonlinear dependence is observed for the coefficient. The ANE coefficient is found to be several orders of magnitude smaller than any Nernst coefficient in the literature. Both the temperature difference and the size of the ANE coefficient require further studies and analysis. Switching events are present in the measured Nernst signal when the magnetic field is swept from positive to negative values. These switchings are related to the switching fields in the ferromagnetic (Ga,Mn)As. Usually, there are two states which are present in TAMR or AMR measurements - low and high resistance. Instead of that, the Nernst signal appears to have three states - high, middle and low thermomagnetic voltage. That behaviour is governed not only by the magnetization, but also by the characteristic of the Nernst geometry.
Chapter 5 summarizes the main observations of this thesis and contains ideas for future work and experiments.