Atom-by-Atom Substitution of Transition Metals in Gallium Arsenide and Visualization of Hole-Mediated Interactions

We also present the first controlled atomic scale study of the interactions between isolated Mn impurities mediated by electronic states in GaAs. High-resolution STM measurements provide visualization of the GaAs electronic states that participate in Mn-Mn interactions. We quantify the interaction strengths between Mn pairs as a function of relative position and orientation. Our experimental findings, which can be explained using tight-binding model calculations, reveal a strong dependence of ferromagnetic interaction on crystallographic orientation. This anisotropic interaction can potentially be exploited by growing oriented Ga1-xMnxAs structures to enhance the ferromagnetic transition temperature beyond that achieved in randomly doped samples.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Physics

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2015

Author dc:creator

• Kitchen, Dale Spencer

Contributors dc:contributor

• Yazdani, Ali

• Physics, Condensed Matter

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(MiAaPQ)AAI3250271

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/80542