Local electronic structure of Cr in the II-VI diluted ferromagnetic semiconductor Zn${}_{1-x}$Cr${}_x$Te

Abstract

The electronic structure of the Cr ions in the diluted ferromagnetic semiconductor Zn${}_{1-x}$Cr${}_x$Te ($x=0.03$ and 0.15) thin films has been investigated using x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) and photoemission spectroscopy (PES). Magnetic-field ($H$) and temperature ($T$) dependences of the Cr $2p$ XMCD spectra well correspond to the magnetization measured by a SQUID magnetometer. The line shape of the Cr $2p$ XMCD spectra is independent of $H$, $T$, and $x$, indicating that the ferromagnetism is originated from the same electronic states of the Cr ion. Cluster-model analysis indicates that although there are two or more kinds of Cr ions in the Zn${}_{1-x}$Cr${}_x$Te samples, the ferromagnetic XMCD signal is originated from Cr ions substituted for the Zn site. The Cr 3d partial density of states extracted using Cr $2p\to 3d$ resonant PES shows a broad feature near the top of the valence band, suggesting strong $s$,$p$-$d$ hybridization. No density of states is detected at the Fermi level, consistent with their insulating behavior. Based on these findings, we conclude that double exchange mechanism cannot explain the ferromagnetism in Zn${}_{1-x}$Cr${}_x$Te.

Accepted for New Journal of Physics. Single column, 21 pages, 7 figures