Structural, optical and morphological properties of Ga _1-xMn _xAs thin films deposited by magnetron sputtering for spintronic device applications

In this work, GaMnAs alloy materials were deposited on 7059 Corning glass and GaAs (1 0 0) substrates via RF magnetron sputtering technique. A concentration of Mn about 0.28 was obtained by Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The substrate temperature was changed from 440 to 520 °C and layer thicknesses between 172 and 514 nm were obtained. Characterization by atomic force microscopy and X-ray diffraction were performed to determinate surface morphology and crystal structure, respectively. From transmittance spectral measurements we were able to determine optical constants: band gap energy (E _g), absorption coefficient (α), and refraction index (n). A correlation between morphological properties and substrate type was also studied. Diluted magnetic semiconductors like GaMnAs are considered among promising materials for the development of new spin-electronic devices.