X-ray absorption spectroscopy study of diluted magnetic semiconductors: Zn(1-xMxSe M = Mn, Fe, Co) and Zn1-xMnxY (Y = Se, Te)

Abstract

We have investigated 3d electronic states of doped transition metals in II-VI diluted magnetic semiconduc rors Zn1-xMxSe (M = Mn,Fe,Co) and Zn1-xMnxY (Y = Se,Te), using the transition-metal L-2,L-3-edge x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) measurements. In order to explain the XAS spectra, we employed a tetragonal cluster model calculation, which includes not only the full ionic multiplet structure but also configuration interaction (CI). The results show that CI is essential to describe the experimental spectra adequately, indicating the strong hybridization between the transition metal 3d and the ligand p orbitals. In the study of Zn1-xMnxY (Y = Se,Te), we also found considerable spectral change in the Mn L-2,L-3-edge XAS spectra for different ligands, confirming the importance of the hybridization effects in these materials.