arXiv subjects

Gavin R. Bell

Publications and source records attributed to Gavin R. Bell.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Focused Ion Beam patterning of MnSb(1-101) based spintronic devcies

Low temperature transport measurements are presented of ferromagnetic MnSb devices with the magnetic properties patterned using a Ga focused ion beam FIB system at 30 keV. FIB patterning introduces disorder and this is quantified in this paper through measurements of the longitudinal resistivity and the anomalous Hall effect contribution to the Hall conductivity. The MnSb structural phase is the niccolite phase with a surface state in addition to bulk states. FIB doses up to 1E16 Ga ions per square cm reduces the anisotropic magnetoresistance signal but increases the size of the anomalous Hall effect signal in out of plane magnetic fields, B. The anomalous Hall effect contribution to the Hall conductivity is e squared divided by h in the undamaged devices, where e is the electronic charge and h is Plancks constant. This quantity is sensitive to the level of disorder induced by the Ga ion beam, reducing to zero at dose levels greater than 1E16 Ga ions per square cm. The resistivity shows a logarithmic B dependence after the magnetization has saturated with the low field anisotropic magnetoresistance contribution of 0.12 percent. The conductivity change is e squared divided by h in the magnetic field range of logarithmic B behavior. The resistivity shows a reduced fit to a logarithmic B dependence at high FIB dose levels and is dependent on the damage uniformity. Patterning nanostructured magnetic behavior in MnSb, with compatibility to altermagnetic materials, in particular the niccolite phase of CrSb and non trivial Berry phase contributions to transport make this ferromagnetic material and patterning technique useful for future spintronic device development.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

A topological material in the III-V family: heteroepitaxial InBi on InAs

InBi(001) is formed epitaxially on InAs(111)-A by depositing Bi on to an In-rich surface. Angle-resolved photoemission measurements reveal topological electronic surface states, close to the M bar high symmetry point. This demonstrates a heteroepitaxial system entirely in the III-V family with topological electronic properties. InBi shows coexistence of Bi and In surface terminations, in contradiction with other III-V materials. For the Bi termination, the study gives a consistent physical picture of the topological surface electronic structure of InBi(001) terminated by a Bi bilayer rather than a surface formed by splitting to a Bi monolayer termination. Theoretical calculations based on relativistic density functional theory and the one-step model of photoemission clarify the relationship between the InBi(001) surface termination and the topological surface states, supporting a predominant role of the Bi bilayer termination. Furthermore, a tight-binding model based on this Bi bilayer termination with only Bi-Bi hopping terms, and no Bi-In interaction, gives a deeper insight into the spin texture.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2022

Direct experimental evidence for substrate adatom incorporation into a molecular overlayer

While the phenomenon of metal substrate adatom incorporation into molecular overlayers is generally believed to occur in several systems, the experimental evidence for this relies on the interpretation of scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) images, which can be ambiguous and provides no quantitative structural information. We show that surface X-ray diffraction (SXRD) uniquely provides unambiguous identification of these metal adatoms. We present the results of a detailed structural study of the Au(111)-F4TCNQ system, combining surface characterisation by STM, low energy electron diffraction and soft X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy with quantitative experimental structural information from normal incidence X-ray standing waves (NIXSW) and SXRD, together with dispersion corrected density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Excellent agreement is found between the NIXSW data and the DFT calculations regarding the height and conformation of the adsorbed molecule, which has a twisted geometry rather than the previously supposed inverted bowl shape. SXRD measurements provide unequivocal evidence for the presence and location of Au adatoms, while the DFT calculations show this reconstruction to be strongly energetically favoured.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2011

Cubic MnSb: epitaxial growth of a predicted room temperature half-metal

Epitaxial films including bulk-like cubic and wurtzite polymorphs of MnSb have been grown by molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs via careful control of the Sb4/Mn flux ratio. Nonzero-temperature density functional theory was used to predict ab initio the spin polarization as a function of reduced magnetization for the half-metals NiMnSb and cubic MnSb. In both cases, half-metallicity is lost at a threshold magnetization reduction, corresponding to a temperature T*< Tc. This threshold is far higher for cubic MnSb compared to NiMnSb and corresponds to T* > 350K, making epitaxial cubic MnSb a promising candidate for room temperature spin injection into semiconductors.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2002

As-rich GaAs(001) surfaces observed during As4-irradition by scanning tunneling microscopy

As-rich GaAs (001) surfaces are successfully observed during As4-irradition by a system in which scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and molecular beam epitaxy can be performed simultaneously. With a substrate temperature of 440 C and an As4 partial pressure of 2x10-6 torr, reflection high energy electron diffraction patterns and reflectance anisotropy spectra confirm a c(4x4) As-stabilized surface. STM images clearly show alteration of the surface reconstructions while scanning. It is postulated that continual attachment / detachment of As molecules to and from the surface produces the observed dynamic behavior.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2002

Ga-rich GaAs(001) surfaces observed during high-temperature annealing by scanning tunneling microscopy

Ga-rich GaAs (001) surfaces are successfully observed during high-temperature annealing by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). With a substrate temperature of 550 C, reflection high-energy diffraction patterns and reflectance anisotropy spectra confirm a (4x2) Ga-stabilized surface. STM images clearly show alteration of the surface reconstructions while scanning. It is postulated that detaching and attaching of Ga adatoms may be the cause of these surface dynamics. For these conditions it is determined that zeta(4x4), zeta2(4x4) and zeta(4x6) reconstructions co-exist on the surface. The zeta2(4x4) reconstruction contains a Ga tetramer cluster and in more Ga-rich conditions, the zeta2(4x6) surface has a Ga octamer cluster.

physics.atm-clus↗