Distribution of magnetic domain pinning fields in Ga(1-x)Mn(x)As ferromagnetic films

Abstract

The distribution of magnetic domain pinning fields was determined in ferromagnetic GaMnAs films using the angular dependence of the planar Hall effect. A major difference is found between the pinning field distribution in as-grown and in annealed films: the former showing a strikingly narrower distribution than the latter. This effect, which we ascribe to differences in the degree of uniformity of magnetic anisotropy, provides a better understanding of magnetic domain landscape in GaMnAs, a subject of current intense interest.