Interface magnetism in ferromagnetic metal-compound semiconductor hybrid structures

Hindmarch, AT

Abstract

Interfaces between dissimilar materials present a wide range of fascinating physical phenomena. When a nanoscale thin-film of a ferromagnetic metal is deposited in intimate contact with a compound semiconductor, the properties of the interface exhibit a wealth of novel behavior, having immense potential for technological application, and being of great interest from the perspective of fundamental physics. This article presents a review of recent advances in the field of interface magnetism in (001)-oriented ferromagnetic metal/III–V compound semiconductor hybrid structures. Until relatively recently, the majority of research in this area continued to concentrate almost exclusively on the prototypical epitaxial Fe/GaAs(001) system: now, a significant proportion of work has branched out from this theme, including ferromagnetic metal alloys, and other III–V compound semiconductors. After a general overview of the topic, and a review of the more recent literature, we discuss recent results where advances have been made in our understanding of the physics underpinning magnetic anisotropy in these systems: tailoring the terms contributing to the angular-dependent free-energy density by employing novel fabrication methods and ferromagnetic metal electrodes.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2011
• Deposit Date: Aug 24, 2011
• Publicly Available Date: May 22, 2012
• Journal: SPIN
• Print ISSN: 2010-3247
• Electronic ISSN: 2010-3255
• Publisher: World Scientific Publishing
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 1
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 45-69
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1142/s2010324711000069
• Keywords: Magnetic anisotropy, Thin-films and interfaces, III–V semiconductors.
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1537447