6533b85ffe1ef96bd12c1264

RESEARCH PRODUCT

X-ray absorption near-edge structure of GaN with high Mn concentration grown on SiC.

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By means of x-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) several Ga(1-x)Mn(x)N (0.03x0.09) layers have been analyzed. The Mn-doped GaN samples consisted of different epilayers grown by molecular beam epitaxy on [0001] SiC substrates. The low mismatch between GaN and SiC allows for a good quality and homogeneity of the material. The measurements were performed in fluorescence mode around both the Ga and Mn K edges. All samples studied present a similar Mn ionization state, very close to 2+, and tetrahedral coordination. In order to interpret the near-edge structure, we have performed ab initio calculations using the full potential linear augmented plane wave method as implemented in the Wien2k code. The calculations show the appearance of a Mn bonding [Formula: see text] band localized in the gap region, and the corresponding anti-bonding state [Formula: see text], which seem to be responsible for the double structure which appears at the pre-edge absorption region. The shoulders and main absorption peak of the XANES spectra are attributed to transitions from the Mn(1s) band to the conduction bands, which are partially dipole allowed because of the Mn(4p) contribution to these bands.