Abstract
We have grown epitaxial ferromagnet / semiconductor / ferromagnet trilayers using the compound magnetic metal δMnGa, and for the first time also a compound semiconductor, GaAs, as spacer layer. At a substrate temperature of 300°C for the spacer layer growth, we obtained single crystalline films with flat interfaces, but we observed a strong Mn diffusion into the spacer. The magnetic layers are strongly coupled, with a coupling energy comparable to that of metallic spacers. This may be caused by the formation of the diluted magnetic semiconductor Ga1-xMnxAs or the antiferromagnetic metal Mn2As in the spacer layer (either as a mixture or an intermediate phase). At a spacer layer growth temperature of 250°C the Mn incorporation is strongly suppressed, but the growth becomes three-dimensional and we have not yet observed interlayer coupling.
