Enhancement of the Curie temperature in GaMnAs/InGaMnAs superlattices

We report on an enhancement of the Curie temperature in GaMnAs/InGaMnAs superlattices grown by low-temperature molecular beam epitaxy which is due to thin InGaMnAs or InGaAs films embedded into the GaMnAs layers. The pronounced increase of the Curie temperature is strongly correlated to the In concentration in the embedded layers. Curie temperatures up to 110 K are observed in such structures compared to 60 K in GaMnAs single layers grown under the same conditions. A further increase in T-C up to 130 K can be achieved using postgrowth annealing at temperatures near the growth temperature. Pronounced thickness fringes in the high-resolution x-ray diffraction spectra indicate good crystalline quality and sharp interfaces in the structures. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.