Effect of Be doping on the properties of GaMnAs ferromagnetic semiconductors

We have studied two series of molecular beam epitaxy grown Ga1-xMnxAs epilayers with several different Be doping levels. Two Mn concentrations x were chosen for this study: 0.03 and 0.05, and these values were maintained constant in each series. These samples were characterized by using SQUID and magnetotransport measurements. A systematic increase of the Curie temperature T-C was observed in SQUID measurements on the series of Ga1-xMnxAs with x=0.03. The resistivity measured at zero magnetic field shows a local maximum near the Curie temperature, reflecting the effects of critical scattering near T-C. The observed increase of T-C in Ga1-xMnxAs for this low range of x can be explained by the increase of the free carrier concentrations in the system arising from Be doping. However, in the series of Ga1-xMnxAs with the higher concentration of Mn (x=0.05), the measurements reveal that the T-C systematically decreases with increasing Be doping level. We discuss this effect in terms of a fundamental limitation of the carrier concentration that can be thermodynamically accommodated by Ga1-xMnxAs epilayers. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.