Magnetic and Magnetotransport Properties of Annealed Amorphous Ge1-xMnx Semiconductor Thin Films

Amorphous Ge_1-x Mn_x thin films grown by low temperature vapor deposition were annealed and their electrical and magnetic properties have been studied. Amorphous Ge_1-xMn_x thin films were annealed at 300°C, 400°C, 500°C, 600°C and 700°C for 3 minutes in high vacuum chamber. X-ray diffraction and TEM analyses reveal that as-grown Ge_1-xMn_x thin films are amorphous, and fine crystalline phases are precipitated when annealed. The fine crystalline precipitates appear at the lower temperature as the Mn concentration of amorphous Ge_1-x Mn_x thin films increases. As-grown amorphous Ge_1-x Mn_x thin films have p-type majority carriers and the type of majority carriers is not changed after annealing, but the electrical resistivity increases with annealing temperature. Magnetization characteristics show that the as-grown amorphous Ge_1-x Mn_x thin films are ferromagnetic and the Curie temperatures are around 130K. Curie temperature and saturation magnetization of annealed Ge_1-x Mn_x thin films increase with annealing temperature. There are different mechanisms to understand increasing of Curie temperature that is related with annealing temperature. Firstly, interaction between Mn spins might be changed by annealing effect. Secondly, magnetization behavior and X-ray analysis imply that the formation of ferromagnetic Ge₃Mn₅ phase causes the change of magnetic and electrical properties of annealed Ge_1-x Mn_x thin films.