Spin-Wave Resonance Model of Surface Pinning in Ferromagnetic Semiconductor (Ga,Mn)As Thin Films

Abstract

The source of spin-wave resonance (SWR) in thin films of the ferromagnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)As is still under debate: does SWR stem from the \emph{surface} anisotropy (in which case the surface inhomogeneity (SI) model would apply), or does it originate in the \emph{bulk} inhomogeneity of the magnetic structure of the sample (and thus requires the use of the volume inhomogeneity (VI) model)? This paper outlines the ground on which the controversy arose and shows why in different conditions a resonance sample may meet the assumptions of either the SI or the VI model. In our considerations we refer to the SWR spectra measured by Furdyna's team [X. Liu \textit{et al.}, Physical Review B \textbf{75}, 195220 (2007)] in (Ga,Mn)As thin films in different configurations of the static magnetic field $\vec{H}$ with respect to the surface. We demonstrate that the observed configuration dependence of the SWR spectrum of the studied material can be described with the use of the surface pinning parameter.