Correlation between compositional fluctuation and magnetic properties of Tm-doped AlGaN alloys

Abstract

The magnetic properties of Tm-doped AlxGa1−xN (0⩽x⩽1) alloys grown by solid-source molecular beam epitaxy were studied by hysteresis measurements and shown to exhibit ferromagnetic behavior at room temperature. The measured magnetization was strongly dependent on the Al content and reached a maximum for x=0.62. Previously reported photoluminescence measurements on these films yielded a blue emission at 465nm with peak intensity at the same Al content. Both magnetic and optical properties are directly correlated with the alloy compositional fluctuation found in undoped AlxGa1−xN alloys.