Determining the concentraton of Mn in (Ga,Mn)As by means of X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy

Abstract

This thesis work investigates the ability of x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to assess the Mn concentration in the Ga1-xMnxAs. For this purpose measurements were the performed on samples with different nominal Mn concentrations in the range 0.5-5%. The samples were sputtered with argon ions to remove surface oxide and carbon contamination, and to record the depth distribution of Mn. The results show that the method can be used for the estimation of the Mn concentration provided that the (XPS) sensitivity factors used are accurate, a correct background is used and that the spectra are recorded with good statistics.