Ferromagnet semiconductor hybrid structures
The fabrication of ferromagnet semiconductor hybrid structures in high crystal perfection is a prerequisite for spintronic device concepts. Our focus is on the growth of half-metallic Heusler alloys on GaAs-related structures. As an amendment, we investigate MgO interlayers at the Heusler alloy/GaAs interface as diffusion and spin-filtering barriers. The growth of these materials is the long-standing basis for spin transport and spin manipulation studies in the core research areas Nanoanalytics and Control of Elementary Excitations by Acoustic Fields.
In parallel, we pursue the preparation of fully crystalline thin film stacks consisting of a semiconducting channel sandwiched between two ferromagnetic layers. From such stacks, new vertical device types could be fabricated. In order to overcome the challenges associated with the growth of a semiconductor on a metal, we have developed solid-phase epitaxy as an approach where an amorphous film of Ge is deposited on Fe3Si and then crystallized slowly by thermal annealing. The films prepared with this method crystallize in the well-oriented, layered tetragonal structure FeGe2.
In addition, we focus on the preparation of single FeGe2 films on GaAs and on graphene to study the properties of this new layered ferromagnetic material, which does not exist as a bulk material in this structure. This research direction acts as a bridge to Nanofabrication activities on 2D materials.
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Selected publications
Author: G. Hoffmann , J. Herfort , M. Ramsteiner
Title: Spin generation in completely MBE grown Co2FeSi/MgO/GaAs lateral spin valves
Source: Phys. Rev. Mater. , 3 , 074402 ( 2019 )
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.3.074402
Author: B. Jenichen , M. Hanke , S. Gaucher , A. Trampert , J. Herfort , H. Kirmse , B. Haas , E. Willinger , X. Huang , S. C. Erwin
Title: Ordered structure of FeGe2 formed during solid-phase epitaxy
Source: Phys. Rev. Mater. , 2 , 051402 ( 2018 )
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.2.051402
Author: Y. Manzke , J. Herfort , M. Ramsteiner
Title: Bias-dependent electrical spin generation in Fe3Si / GaAs: Consistent behavior in the nonlocal, local, and the three-terminal configuration
Source: Phys. Rev. B , 96 , 245308 ( 2017 )
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.96.245308
Author: S. Gaucher , B. Jenichen , J. Kalt , U. Jahn , A. Trampert , J. Herfort
Title: Growth of Fe3Si/Ge/Fe3Si trilayers on GaAs(001) using solid-phase epitaxy
Source: Appl. Phys. Lett. , 110 , 102103 ( 2017 )
DOI: 10.1063/1.4977833
Author: M. Hilse , B. Jenichen , J. Herfort
Title: GaAs-Fe3Si Semiconductor-Ferromagnet Core-Shell Nanowires for Spintronics
Source: Novel Compound Semiconductor Nanowires: Materials, Devices and Application (Editors: F. Ishikawa and I. Buyanova, Pan Stanford Publishing) , 1 , 221 ( 2017 )
DOI: 10.1201/9781315364407-7