Optical Properties of III-Mn-V Ferromagnetic Semiconductors

Abstract

We review the first decade of extensive optical studies of ferromagnetic, III-Mn-V diluted magnetic semiconductors. Mn introduces holes and local moments to the III-V host, which can result in carrier mediated ferromagnetism in these disordered semiconductors. Spectroscopic experiments provide direct access to the strength and nature of the exchange between holes and local moments; the degree of itineracy of the carriers; and the evolution of the states at the Fermi energy with doping. Taken together, diversity of optical methods reveal that Mn is an unconventional dopant, in that the metal to insulator transition is governed by the strength of the hybridization between Mn and its p-nictogen neighbor. The interplay between the optical, electronic and magnetic properties of III-Mn-V magnetic semiconductors is of fundamental interest and may enable future spin-optoelectronic devices.

Topical Review

References in corpus (10)

• Metal-insulator transition in two-dimensional electron systems
• Spatial structure of an individual Mn acceptor in GaAs
• Multiband tight-binding model of local magnetism in GaMnAs
• Ellipsometric study of the Electronic Structure of GaMnAs and LT-GaAs
• Electronic States and Cyclotron Resonance in n-type InMnAs
• Temperature and magnetization-dependent band-gap renormalization and optical many-body effects in diluted magnetic semiconductors
• Magnetic circular dichroism from the impurity band in III-V diluted magnetic semiconductors
• Influence of annealing parameters on the ferromagnetic properties of optimally passivated (Ga,Mn)As epilayers
• Exchange anisotropy, disorder and frustration in diluted, predominantly ferromagnetic, Heisenberg spin systems
• Disorder, spin-orbit, and interaction effects in dilute ${\mathrm{Ga}}_{1-x}{\mathrm{Mn}}_x\mathrm{As}$