arXiv subjects

Shengqiang Zhou

Publications and source records attributed to Shengqiang Zhou.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2017

Interplay between localization and magnetism in (Ga,Mn)As and (In,Mn)As

Ion implantation of Mn combined with pulsed laser melting is employed to obtain two representative compounds of dilute ferromagnetic semiconductors (DFSs): Ga1-xMnxAs and In1-xMnxAs. In contrast to films deposited by the widely used molecular beam epitaxy, neither Mn interstitials nor As antisites are present in samples prepared by the method employed here. Under these conditions the influence of localization on the hole-mediated ferromagnetism is examined in two DFSs with a differing strength of p-d coupling. On the insulating side of the transition, ferromagnetic signatures persist to higher temperatures in In1-xMnxAs compared to Ga1-xMnxAs with the same Mn concentration x. This substantiates theoretical suggestions that stronger p-d coupling results in an enhanced contribution to localization, which reduces hole-mediated ferromagnetism. Furthermore, the findings support strongly the heterogeneous model of electronic states at the localization boundary and point to the crucial role of weakly localized holes in mediating efficient spin-spin interactions even on the insulator side of the metal-insulator transition.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

Interaction between magnetic moments and itinerant carriers in d0 ferromagnetic SiC

Elucidating the interaction between magnetic moments and itinerant carriers is an important step to spintronic applications. Here, we investigate magnetic and transport properties in d0 ferromagnetic SiC single crystals prepared by postimplantation pulsed laser annealing. Magnetic moments are contributed by the p states of carbon atoms, but their magnetic circular dichroism is different from that in semi-insulating SiC samples. The anomalous Hall effect and negative magnetoresistance indicate the influence of d0 spin order on free carriers. The ferromagnetism is relatively weak in N-implanted SiC compared with that in Al-implanted SiC after annealing. The results suggest that d0 magnetic moments and itinerant carriers can interact with each other, which will facilitate the development of SiC spintronic devices with d0 ferromagnetism.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

Defect-induced magnetism in SiC probed by nuclear magnetic resonance

We give evidence for intrinsic, defect-induced bulk paramagnetism in SiC by means of $^{13}$C and $^{29}$Si nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The temperature dependence of the internal dipole-field distribution, probed by the spin part of the NMR Knight shift and the spectral linewidth, follows a Curie law and scales very well with the macroscopic DC susceptibility. In order to quantitatively analyze the NMR spectra, a microscopic model based on dipole-dipole interactions was developed. The very good agreement between these simulations and the NMR data establishes a direct relation between the frequency distribution of the spectral intensity and the corresponding real-space volumes of nuclear spins. The presented approach by NMR can be applied to a variety of similar materials and, thus, opens a new avenue for the microscopic exploration and exploitation of diluted bulk magnetism in semiconductors.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2016

Carrier induced ferromagnetism in the insulating Mn doped III-V semiconductor InP

Although InP and GaAs have very similar band-structure their magnetic properties appear to drastically differ. Critical temperatures in (In,Mn)P are much smaller than that of (Ga,Mn)As and scale linearly with Mn concentration. This is in contrast to the square root behaviour found in (Ga,Mn)As. Moreover the magnetization curve exhibits an unconventional shape in (In,Mn)P contrasting with the conventional one of well annealed (Ga,Mn)As. By combining several theoretical approaches, the nature of ferromagnetism in Mn doped InP is investigated. It appears that the magnetic properties are essentially controlled by the position of the Mn acceptor level. Our calculations are in excellent agreement with recent measurements for both critical temperatures and magnetizations. The results are only consistent with a Fermi level lying in an impurity band, ruling out the possibility to understand the physical properties of Mn doped InP within the valence band scenario. The quantitative success found here reveals a predictive tool of choice that should open interesting pathways to address magnetic properties in other compounds

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2016

Suppressing the cellular breakdown in silicon supersaturated with titanium

Hyper doping Si with up to 6 at.% Ti in solid solution was performed by ion implantation followed by pulsed laser annealing and flash lamp annealing. In both cases, the implanted Si layer can be well recrystallized by liquid phase epitaxy and solid phase epitaxy, respectively. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy of Ti-implanted Si after liquid phase epitaxy shows the so-called growth interface breakdown or cellular breakdown owing to the occurrence of constitutional supercooling in the melt. The appearance of cellular breakdown prevents further recrystallization. However, the out-diffusion and cellular breakdown can be effectively suppressed by solid phase epitaxy during flash lamp annealing due to the high velocity of amorphous-crystalline interface and the low diffusion velocity for Ti in the solid phase.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2016

Precise tuning of the Curie temperature of (Ga,Mn)As-based magnetic semiconductors by hole compensation: Support for valence-band ferromagnetism

For the prototype diluted ferromagnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)As, there is a fundamental concern about the electronic states near the Fermi level, i.e., whether the Fermi level resides in a well-separated impurity band derived from Mn doping (impurity-band model) or in the valence band that is already merged with the Mn-derived impurity band (valence-band model). We investigate this question by carefully shifting the Fermi level by means of carrier compensation. We use helium-ion implantation, a standard industry technology, to precisely compensate the hole doping of GaAs-based diluted ferromagnetic semiconductors while keeping the Mn concentration constant. We monitor the change of Curie temperature ($T_C$) and conductivity. For a broad range of samples including (Ga,Mn)As and (Ga,Mn)(As,P) with various Mn and P concentrations, we observe a smooth decrease of $T_C$ with carrier compensation over a wide temperature range while the conduction is changed from metallic to insulating. The existence of $T_C$ below 10\,K is also confirmed in heavily compensated samples. Our experimental results are naturally explained within the valence-band picture.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2016

Intrinsic diamagnetism in the Weyl semimetal TaAs

We investigate the magnetic properties of TaAs, a prototype Weyl semimetal. TaAs crystals show weak diamagnetism with magnetic susceptibility of about -7 * 10^{-7} emu/(g*Oe) at 5 K. A general feature is the appearance of a minimum at around 185 K in magnetization measurements as a function of temperature. No phase transition is observed in the temperature range between 5 K and 400 K. The magnetic properties indicate that the intrinsic Fermi level in TaAs is not located at the Weyl nodes, in agreement with the theory prediction.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2016

Layer compression and enhanced optical properties of few-layer graphene nanosheets induced by ion irradiation

Graphene has been recognized as an attractive two-dimensional material for fundamental research and wide applications in electronic and photonic devices owing to its unique properties. The technologies to modulate the properties of graphene are of continuous interest to researchers in multidisciplinary areas. Herein, we report on the first experimental observation of the layer-to-layer compression and enhanced optical properties of few-layer graphene nanosheets by applying the irradiation of energetic ion beams. After the irradiation, the space between the graphene layers was reduced, resulting in a tighter contact between the few-layer graphene nanosheet and the surface of the substrate. This processing also enhanced the interaction between the graphene nanosheets and the evanescent-field wave near the surface, thus reinforcing the polarization-dependent light absorption of the graphene layers (with 3-fold polarization extinction ratio increment). Utilizing the ion-irradiated graphene nanosheets as saturable absorbers, the passively Q-switched waveguide lasing with considerably improved performances was achieved, owing to the enhanced interactions between the graphene nanosheets and evanescent field of light. The obtained repetition rate of waveguide laser was up to 2.3 MHz with a pulse duration of 101 ns.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2015

Defect-induced magnetism in SiC: Interplay between ferromagnetism and paramagnetism

Defect-induced ferromagnetism has triggered a lot of investigations and controversies. The major issue is that the induced ferromagnetic signal is so weak that it can sufficiently be accounted for by trace contamination. To resolve this issue, we studied the variation of the magnetic properties of SiC after neutron irradiation with fluence covering four orders of magnitude. A large paramagnetic component has been induced and scales up with defect concentration, which can be well accounted for by uncoupled divacancies. However, the ferromagnetic contribution is still weak and only appears in the low fluence range of neutrons or after annealing treatments. First-principles calculations hint towards a mutually exclusive role of the concentration of defects: Defects favor spin polarization at the expense of magnetic interaction. Combining both experimental and first-principles calculation results, the defect-induced ferromagnetism can be understood as a local effect which cannot be scaled up with the volume. Therefore, our investigation answers the long-standing question why the defect-induced ferromagnetic signal is weak.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2015

A comprehensive study of the magnetic, structural and transport properties of the III-V ferromagnetic semiconductor InMnP

The manganese induced magnetic, electrical and structural modification in InMnP epilayers, prepared by Mn ion implantation and pulsed laser annealing, are investigated in the following work. All samples exhibit clear hysteresis loops and strong spin polarization at the Fermi level. The degree of magnetization, the Curie temperature and the spin polarization depend on the Mn concentration. The bright-field transmission electron micrographs show that InP samples become almost amorphous after Mn implantation but recrystallize after pulsed laser annealing. We did not observe an insulator-metal transition in InMnP up to a Mn concentration of 5 at./%. Instead all InMnP samples show insulating characteristics up to the lowest measured temperature. Magneotresistance results obtained at low temperatures support the hopping conduction mechanism in InMnP. We find that the Mn impurity band remains detached from the valence band in InMnP up to 5 at./% Mn doping. Our findings indicate that the local environment of Mn ions in InP is similar to GaMnAs, GaMnP and InMnAs, however, the electrical properties of these Mn implanted III-V compounds are different. This is one of the consequences of the different Mn binding energy in these compounds.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2015

Defect-induced magnetism in graphite through neutron irradiation

We have investigated the variation in the magnetization of highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) after neutron irradiation, which introduces defects in the bulk sample and consequently gives rise to a large magnetic signal. We observe strong paramagnetism in HOPG, increasing with the neutron fluence. We correlate the induced paramagnetism with structural defects by comparison with density-functional theory calculations. In addition to the in-plane vacancies, the trans-planar defects also contribute to the magnetization. The lack of any magnetic order between the local moments is possibly due to the absence of hydrogen/nitrogen chemisorption, or the magnetic order cannot be established at all in the bulk form.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2014

Disentangling defect-induced ferromagnetism in SiC

We present a detailed investigation of the magnetic properties in SiC single crystals bombarded with neon ions. Through careful measuring of the magnetization of virgin and irradiated SiC, we decompose the magnetization of SiC into paramagnetic, superparamagnetic, and ferromagnetic contributions. The ferromagnetic contribution persists well above room temperature and exhibits a pronounced magnetic anisotropy. We qualitatively explain the magnetic properties as a result of the intrinsic clustering tendency of defects.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2014

Origin and enhancement of the 1.3 um luminescence from GaAs treated by ion-implantation and flash lamp annealing

GaAs and GaAs based materials have outstanding optoelectronic properties and are widely used as light emitting media in devices. Many approaches have been applied to GaAs to generate luminescence at 0.88, 1.30, 1.55 um which are transmission windows of optical fibers. In this paper we present the photoluminescence at 1.30 um from deep level defects in GaAs treated by ion-implantation and flash lamp annealing (FLA). Such emission, which exhibits superior temperature stability, can be obtained from FLA treated virgin GaAs as well as doped GaAs. Indium-doping in GaAs can greatly enhance the luminescence. By photoluminescence, Raman measurements, and positron annihilation spectroscopy, we conclude that the origin of the 1.30 um emission is from transitions between the VAs-donor and X-acceptor pairs.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2014

Structural and magnetic properties of irradiated SiC

We present a comprehensive structural characterization of ferromagnetic SiC single crystals induced by Ne ion irradiation. The ferromagnetism has been confirmed by electron spin resonance and possible transition metal impurities can be excluded to be the origin of the observed ferromagnetism. Using X-ray diffraction and Rutherford backscattering/channeling spectroscopy, we estimate the damage to the crystallinity of SiC which mutually influences the ferromagnetism in SiC.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2013

Using x-ray diffraction to identify precipitates in transition metal doped semiconductors

In the past decade, room temperature ferromagnetism was often observed in transition metal doped semiconductors, which were claimed as diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMS). Nowadays intensive activities are devoted to clarify wether the observed ferromagnetism stems from carrier mediated magnetic impurities, ferromagnetic precipitates, or spinodal decomposition. In this paper, we have correlated the structural and magnetic properties of transition metal doped ZnO, TiO2, and Si, prepared by ion implantation. Crystalline precipitates, i.e., transition metal (Co, Ni) and Mn-silicide nanocrystals, are responsible for the magnetism. Additionally due to their orientation nature with respect to the host, these nanocrystals in some cases are not detectable by conventional x-ray diffraction (XRD). This nature results in the pitfall of using XRD to exclude magnetic precipitates in DMS materials.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2012

InP nanocrystals on silicon for optoelectronic applications

One of the solutions enabling performance progress, which can overcome the downsizing limit in silicon technology, is the integration of different functional optoelectronic devices within a single chip. Silicon with its indirect band gap has poor optical properties, which is its main drawback. Therefore, a different material has to be used for the on-chip optical interconnections, e.g. a direct band gap III-V compound semiconductor material. In the paper we present the synthesis of single crystalline InP nanodots (NDs) on silicon using combined ion implantation and millisecond flash lamp annealing techniques. The optical and microstructural investigations reveal the growth of high-quality (100)-oriented InP nanocrystals. The current-voltage measurements confirm the formation of an n-p heterojunction between the InP NDs and silicon. The main advantage of our method is its integration with large-scale silicon technology, which allows applying it for Si-based optoelectronic devices.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2012

Magnetic Mn5Ge3 nanocrystals embedded in crystalline Ge: a magnet/semiconductor hybrid synthesized by ion implantation

The integration of ferromagnetic Mn5Ge3 with the Ge matrix is promising for spin injection in a silicon-compatible geometry. In this paper, we report the preparation of magnetic Mn5Ge3 nanocrystals embedded inside the Ge matrix by Mn ions implantation at elevated temperature. By X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy, we observe crystalline Mn5Ge3 with variable size depending on the Mn ion fluence. The electronic structure of Mn in Mn5Ge3 nanocrystals is 3d6 configuration, the same as in bulk Mn5Ge3. A large positive magnetoresistance has been observed at low temperatures. It can be explained by the conductivity inhomogeneity in the magnetic/semiconductor hybrid system.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2012

Temperature stable 1.3 μm emission from GaAs

Gallium arsenide has outstanding performance in optical communication devices for light source purposes. Different approaches have been done to realize the luminescence from GaAs matching the transmission window of optical fibers. Here we present the realization of quasi- temperature independent photoluminescence at around 1.3 μm from millisecond-range thermally treated GaAs. It is shown that the VAs donor and X acceptor pairs are responsible for the 1.3 μm emission. The influence of the flash-lamp-annealing on the donor-acceptor pair (DAP) formation in the nitrogen and manganese doped and un-doped semi-insulating GaAs wafers were investigated. The concentration of DAP and the 1.3 μm emission can be easily tuned by controlling doping and annealing conditions.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗