Design and Characterization of a Sharp GaAs/Zn(Mn)Se Heterovalent Interface: A Sub-Nanometer Scale View
Davide F. Grossi,
Sebastian Koelling,
Pavel A. Yunin,
Paul M. Koenraad,
Grigory V. Klimko,
Sergey V. Sorokin,
Mikhail N. Drozdov,
Sergey V. Ivanov,
Alexey A. Toropov,
Andrei Y. Silov
Affiliations
Davide F. Grossi
Department of Applied Physics and Institute for Photonic Integration, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Sebastian Koelling
Department of Applied Physics and Institute for Photonic Integration, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Pavel A. Yunin
Institute for Physics of Microstructures RAS, 603950 Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
Paul M. Koenraad
Department of Applied Physics and Institute for Photonic Integration, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Grigory V. Klimko
Ioffe Institute, 194021 St. Petersburg, Russia
Sergey V. Sorokin
Ioffe Institute, 194021 St. Petersburg, Russia
Mikhail N. Drozdov
Institute for Physics of Microstructures RAS, 603950 Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
Sergey V. Ivanov
Ioffe Institute, 194021 St. Petersburg, Russia
Alexey A. Toropov
Ioffe Institute, 194021 St. Petersburg, Russia
Andrei Y. Silov
Department of Applied Physics and Institute for Photonic Integration, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
The distribution of magnetic impurities (Mn) across a GaAs/Zn(Mn)Se heterovalent interface is investigated combining three experimental techniques: Cross-Section Scanning Tunnel Microscopy (X-STM), Atom Probe Tomography (APT), and Secondary Ions Mass Spectroscopy (SIMS). This unique combination allowed us to probe the Mn distribution with excellent sensitivity and sub-nanometer resolution. Our results show that the diffusion of Mn impurities in GaAs is strongly suppressed; conversely, Mn atoms are subject to a substantial redistribution in the ZnSe layer, which is affected by the growth conditions and the presence of an annealing step. These results show that it is possible to fabricate a sharp interface between a magnetic semiconductor (Zn(Mn)Se) and high quality GaAs, with low dopant concentration and good optical properties.
