Clustering in a Precipitate-Free GeMn Magnetic Semiconductor

We present the first study relating structural parameters of precipitate-free Ge_0.95Mn_0.05 films to magnetization data. Nanometer-sized clusters—areas with increased Mn content on substitutional lattice sites compared to the host matrix—are detected in transmission electron microscopy analysis. The films show no overall spontaneous magnetization at all down to 2 K. The TEM and magnetization results are interpreted in terms of an assembly of superparamagnetic moments developing in the dense distribution of clusters. Each cluster individually turns ferromagnetic below an ordering temperature which depends on its volume and Mn content.