Effect of the shape anisotropy on the magnetic configuration of (Ga,Mn)As and its evolution with temperature

TL;DR

This study investigates how shape anisotropy influences magnetic domain configurations in (Ga,Mn)As/GaAs(001) wires, revealing that shape effects become more prominent at higher temperatures due to the temperature-dependent intrinsic anisotropy.

Contribution

It demonstrates the temperature-dependent interplay between shape and intrinsic anisotropies in (Ga,Mn)As, providing insights for designing nanostructured spintronic devices.

Findings

Shape anisotropy's influence increases with temperature.

Intrinsic anisotropy shows stronger temperature dependence.

Practical implications for spin electronic device design.

Abstract

We study the effect of the shape anisotropy on the magnetic domain configurations of a ferromagnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)As/GaAs(001) epitaxial wire as a function of temperature. Using magnetoresistance measurements, we deduce the magnetic configurations and estimate the relative strength of the shape anisotropy compared with the intrinsic anisotropies. Since the intrinsic anisotropy is found to show a stronger temperature dependence than the shape anisotropy, the effect of the shape anisotropy on the magnetic domain configuration is relatively enhanced with increasing temperature. This information about the shape anisotropy provides a practical means of designing nanostructured spin electronic devices using (Ga,Mn)As.