Photoemission studies of Ga$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$As: Mn-concentration dependent properties

Abstract

Using angle-resolved photoemission, we have investigated the development of the electronic structure and the Fermi level pinnning in Ga$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$As with Mn concentrations in the range 1--6%. We find that the Mn-induced changes in the valence-band spectra depend strongly on the Mn concentration, suggesting that the interaction between the Mn ions is more complex than assumed in earlier studies. The relative position of the Fermi level is also found to be concentration-dependent. In particular we find that for concentrations around 3.5--5% it is located very close to the valence-band maximum, which is in the range where metallic conductivity has been reported in earlier studies. For concentration outside this range, larger as well as smaller, the Fermi level is found to be pinned at about 0.15 eV higher energy.