title: Epitaxial integration of the highly spin-polarized ferromagnetic semiconductor EuO with silicon and GaN.
abstract: Doped EuO is an attractive material for the fabrication of proof-of-concept spintronic devices. Yet for decades its use has been hindered by its instability in air and the difficulty of preparing and patterning high-quality thin films. Here, we establish EuO as the pre-eminent material for the direct integration of a carrier-concentration-matched half-metal with the long-spin-lifetime semiconductors silicon and GaN, using methods that transcend these difficulties. Andreev reflection measurements reveal that the spin polarization in doped epitaxial EuO films exceeds 90%, demonstrating that EuO is a half-metal even when highly doped. Furthermore, EuO is epitaxially integrated with silicon and GaN. These results demonstrate the high potential of EuO for spintronic devices.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802-5005, USA.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schmehl
authors.forename: Venu
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Vaithyanathan
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Herrnberger
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Thiel
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Richter
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Liberati
authors.forename: Tassilo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Heeg
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Röckerath
authors.forename: Lena Fitting
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Kourkoutis
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mühlbauer
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Böni
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Muller
authors.forename: Yuri
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Barash
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schubert
authors.forename: Yves
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Idzerda
authors.forename: Jochen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mannhart
authors.forename: Darrell G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Schlom
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D005063:Europium / Q000737:chemistry*; D005708:Gallium / Q000737:chemistry*; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods; D010087:Oxides / Q000737:chemistry*; D012666:Semiconductors; D012825:Silicon / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D010087:Oxides; C473348:gallium nitride; D005063:Europium; D005708:Gallium; D012825:Silicon