Magnetic and structural studies of GeMnSnTe epitaxial layers

MBE grown Ge_{1-x-y}Mn_xSn_yTe layers with Mn content ranging from 10 to 30% and Sn content ranging from 2 to 5% have been characterized with X-ray diffraction, energy-dispersive X-Ray spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, SQUID magnetometry, and ferromagnetic resonance. All layers (except the one with the highest Mn and Sn content) were found to be single phase rhombohedral, with the distortion axis perpendicular to the layer surface, and ferromagnetic. Ferromagnetic resonance studies have shown that co-doping with a few percent of tin makes the lattice more rigid and changes considerably the magnetocrystalline anisotropy, from purely uniaxial in GeMnTe to distorted cubic in Ge_{1-x-y}Mn_xSn_yTe at the same Mn content.