Intra-atomic photoluminescence at 1.41 eV of substitutional Mn in GaMnN of high optical quality

We report on a characteristic photoluminescence feature of the substitutional Mn in high quality GaMnN layers. The lattice site was identified using atom localization by channeling enhanced microanalysis with a transmission electron microscope. It shows that 96.5%+/- 5.0% of the Mn atoms are incorporated on the substitutional Ga site. In photoluminescence a feature appears at 1.41 eV with a phonon sideband related to the GaN matrix. The temperature evolution is characteristic of an intra-atomic transition and it is assigned to the internal transition (5)E ->(5)T(2) of the Mn(3+) ion. The assignment is supported by absorption experiments. The persistence of the clear PL signal up to about 1% Mn concentration is proposed to be a fingerprint of high quality diluted GaMnN. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.