Structural and magnetic properties of In_(1-x)Mn_xSb: Effect of Mn complexes and MnSb nanoprecipitates

摘要

Structural and magnetic properties of the group Ⅲ-Ⅴdiluted magnetic semiconductor In_(1-x)Mn_xSb with x = 0.005-0.06, including the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) investigations, are reported. Polycrystalline In_(1-x)Mn_xSb samples were prepared by direct alloying of indium antimonide, manganese and antimony, followed by a fast cooling of the melt with a rate of 10-12 K/s. According to the X-ray diffraction data, part of Mn is substituted for In, forming the In_(1-x)Mn_xSb matrix. Atomic force microscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy investigations provide evidence for the presence of microcrystalline MnSb inclusions (precipitates), having a size of ～100-600 nm, and the fine structure of nanosize grains with a Gaussian distribution around the diameter of ～24 nm. According to the NMR spectra, the majority of Mn enters the MnSb inclusions. In addition to the single Mn ions, which contribute to the magnetization M (T) only in the low-temperature limit of T< 10-20K, and MnSb nanoprecipitates responsible for the ferromagnetic (FM) properties of In_(1-x)Mn_xSb, a superparamagnetic (SP) contribution of atomic-size magnetic Mn complexes (presumably dimers) has been established. The fraction of the MnSb phase, η～1-4%, as well as the concentration, n_(sp)～(0.8-3.2) × 10~(19)cm~(-3), and the magnetic moment of the Mn dimers, μ～8-9μ_B, are determined. The solubility limit of Mn in the InSb matrix, N_(SL)～10~(20)cm~(-3), is estimated. Hysteresis in low (H < 500 Oe) magnetic fields and saturation of the magnetization in high (H > 20 kOe) magnetic fields are observed, indicating a presence of the SP and FM contributions to the dependence of M (H) up to T ～500 K. The hysteresis is characterized by the coercivity field, H_c, decreasing between ～100 and 75 Oe when T is increased from 5 to 510K. The values of H_c are in reasonable agreement with the effect of the largest MnSb inclusions. The maximum of M (T), measured in the zero-field-cooled and the field-cooled conditions in a weak field of 500 Oe, is observed at T～510K and is attributable to the Hopkinson effect.