III-V and II-VI Mn-Based Ferromagnetic Semiconductors

Abstract

A review is given of advances in the field of carrier-controlled ferromagnetism in Mn-based diluted magnetic semiconductors and their nanostructures. Experimental results for III-V materials, where the Mn atoms introduce both spins and holes, are compared to the case of II-VI compounds, in which the Curie temperatures TC above 1 K have been observed for the uniformly and modulation-doped p-type structures but not in the case of n-type films. The experiments demonstrating the tunability of TC by light and electric field are presented. The tailoring of domain structures and magnetic anisotropy by strain engineering and confinement is discussed emphasizing the role of the spin-orbit coupling in the valence band. The question of designing modulated magnetic structures in low dimensional semiconductor systems is addressed. Recent progress in search for semiconductors with TC above room temperature is presented.