Magnetic and structural properties of stoichiometric thin Fe3Si/GaAs(0 0 1) films

Abstract In this study, we report experimental results on the structural and magnetic properties of epitaxial Fe 3 Si films grown on GaAs(0 0 1) by co-evaporation. X-ray reflectivity shows that relatively smooth interfaces are obtained (roughness ≈ 0.7 nm for the Fe 3 Si/GaAs interface), while SQUID magnetometry yields a magnetic moment of 0.9 μ B /atom at room temperature, close to the bulk value. From magneto-optic Kerr effect measurements the cubic anisotropy constant was estimated as K 1 = 3.1 × 10 4 erg/cm 3 . The electrical transport properties were also investigated by I–V and photoexcitation measurements, which show a Schottky behaviour (with a barrier height of 0.51 eV) and that spin detection is possible in this system.