Iron clustering in GaSe epilayers grown on GaAs(111)B

Ar De Moraes , Dh Mosca , N Mattoso , Jl Guimaraes , Jj Klein , Wh Schreiner , Pen De Souza , Aja De Oliveira , Maz De Vasconcellos , Dominique Demaille (1) , M Eddrief (1) , Victor H. Etgens (1)

1 INSP - Institut des Nanosciences de Paris

In this paper we report on the structural, morphological and magnetic properties of semiconducting GaSe epilayers, grown by molecular beam epitaxy, doped to different iron contents (ranging from 1 to 22 at.% Fe). Our results indicate that iron forms metallic Fe nanoparticles with diameters ranging from 1 to 20 nm embedded in the crystalline GaSe matrix. The Fe incorporation proceeds by segregation and agglomeration and induces a progressive disruption of the lamellar GaSe epilayers. The magnetization as a function of the temperature for zero-field cooling with the magnetic field parallel to the surface of the sample provides evidence of superparamagnetic behaviour of the nanoparticles. Cathodoluminescence experiments performed at room temperature reveal semiconducting behaviour even for samples with Fe concentrations as high as 20 at.%.

Domaines: Matière Condensée [cond-mat]

Ar De Moraes, Dh Mosca, N Mattoso, Jl Guimaraes, Jj Klein, et al.. Iron clustering in GaSe epilayers grown on GaAs(111)B. Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, 2006, 18 (4), pp.1165-1174. ⟨10.1088/0953-8984/18/4/005⟩. ⟨hal-01293046⟩