Above-bandgap magneto-optical Kerr effect in ferromagnetic Ga1-xMnxAs Institutional Repository Document uri icon

abstract

  • We performed a systematic magneto-optical Kerr spectroscopy study of Ga1-xMnxAs with varying Mn densities as a function of temperature, magnetic field, and photon energy. Unlike previous studies, the magnetization easy axis was perpendicular to the sample surface, allowing us to take remanent polar Kerr spectra in the absence of an external magnetic field. The remanent Kerr angle strongly depended on the photon energy, exhibiting a large positive peak at ~1.7 eV. This peak increased in intensity and blueshifted with Mn doping and further blueshifted with annealing. Using a 30-band kp model with antiferromagnetic s,p-d exchange interaction, we calculated the dielectric tensor of Ga1-xMnxAs in the interband transition region, assuming that our samples are in the metallic regime and the impurity band has merged with the valence band. Our modeling successfully reproduces the observed spectra. 2011 American Physical Society.

author list (cited authors)

  • Sun, C., Kono, J., Cho, Y., Wjcik, A. K., Belyanin, A., & Munekata, H.

citation count

  • 16

complete list of authors

  • Sun, C||Kono, J||Cho, Y-H||Wójcik, AK||Belyanin, A||Munekata, H

publication date

  • March 2011