Induced magnetic anisotropy in lifted (Ga,Mn)As thin films

Abstract

We demonstrate the ability to release the growth-induced strain in (Ga,Mn)As layers and (In,Ga)As/(Ga,Mn)As bilayers by lifting them from the GaAs substrate. The lifted (bi)layers are then deposited back onto various substrates. The change in strain before and after processing has been studied by means of x-ray diffraction. Magnetic characterization demonstrates the efficiency of our lift-off process to reorient the magnetization to the direction normal to the layer plane.