Mapping of magnetic anisotropy in strained ferromagnetic semiconductor GaMnAs films

The effect of strain on the magnetic anisotropy of GaMnAs films has been systematically investigated using Hall effect measurements. The magnitude of the strain, which was caused by differences in the lattice constant between the GaMnAs film and buffer layer, was controlled by adjustment of the alloy composition in the GaInAs buffer layer. The in-plane and out-of-plane components of the magnetic anisotropy were obtained from the angular dependence of the planar Hall resistance and the anomalous Hall resistance, respectively. The anisotropy constants obtained allow us to construct a three-dimensional magnetic free energy surface, which provides a clear understanding of the transition behavior of the magnetization between the in-plane and out-of-plane direction in the GaMnAs films. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3427553]