X-ray magnetic circular dichroism characterization of GaN∕Ga1−xMnxN digital ferromagnetic heterostructure

The authors have investigated the magnetic properties of a GaN∕Ga1−xMnxN (x=0.1) digital ferromagnetic heterostructure (DFH) showing ferromagnetic behavior using soft x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD). The Mn L2,3-edge XAS spectra were similar to those of Ga1−xMnxN random alloy thin films, indicating a substitutional doping of high concentration Mn into GaN. From the XMCD measurements, it was revealed that paramagnetic and ferromagnetic Mn atoms coexisted in the Ga1−xMnxN digital layers. Subtle differences were also found from the XMCD spectra between the electronic states of the ferromagnetic and paramagnetic Mn2+ ions. The ferromagnetic moment per Mn atom estimated from XMCD agreed well with that estimated from superconducting quantum interference device measurements, indicating that the ferromagnetic behavior of the GaN∕Ga1−xMnxN DFH sample arises only from substitutional Mn2+ ions in the Ga1−xMnxN digital layers and not from ferromagnetic precipitates.