Cross-sectional magnetic force microscopy of MnAs/GaAs(001)

B. Rache Salles (1) , M. Marangolo (1) , C. David , J. C. Girard

1 INSP - Institut des Nanosciences de Paris

We investigate the magnetic domain structure and stray field of MnAs/GaAs(001) thin films by magnetic force microscopy of the growth surface and of cleavage edges. The strong uniaxial magnetic anisotropy of MnAs makes the magnetic properties very similar to those of a rectangular bar magnet with constant magnetization along the easy axis direction. By analytical calculations we estimate the out-of-plane magnetic stray field component acting on electrons injected by a MnAs contact into a GaAs-based device.

Mots clés: arsenic alloys; gallium arsenide; magnetic anisotropy; magnetic domains; magnetic force microscopy; magnetic thin films; manganese alloys

Domaines: Matière Condensée [cond-mat]

B. Rache Salles, M. Marangolo, C. David, J. C. Girard. Cross-sectional magnetic force microscopy of MnAs/GaAs(001). Applied Physics Letters, 2010, 96 (5), pp.052510. ⟨10.1063/1.3309421⟩. ⟨hal-01240952⟩