Magnetic Anisotropies and (Ga,Mn)As-based spintronic devices

In this Review, we discuss the rich anisotropic properties of the ferromagnetic semiconductor (Ga, Mn)As, and their implications in transport studies. We review the various sources and types of anisotropy seen in the material, discuss its magnetization reversal process, and demonstrate how basic transport properties, such as resistivity and Hall measurements, can be used as very sensitive tools to investigate the magnetization properties of the material. We also discuss how the magnetic anisotropy, coupled with large spin-orbit coupling, leads to an anisotropy in the transport density of states, which in turn leads to fundamentally novel behavior such as tunneling anisotropic magnetoresistance (TAMR).