Structural and magnetic properties of Mn+ implanted silicon crystals studied using X-ray absorption spectroscopy techniques

The implantation of Mn ions into two Si substrates with different doping (P or B), resistivity and oxygen content was performed at low and high substrate temperatures. Different post-implantation processing was carried out to study its influence on the structural and magnetic properties of these samples. The local order around the Mn atoms was characterized by X-ray absorption fine structure techniques and the magnetic properties of the Mn ionic cores were determined by means of X-ray magnetic circular dichroism measurements. The results are discussed in relation to the structural and macroscopic magnetic properties. It is shown that the amorphous matrix speeds up the formation of MnSix inclusions. However, the existence of inclusions or the type of electrically active dopants is not directly related to the magnetic properties. Therefore, in the performed studies, the importance of structural defects on the magnetic properties was confirmed. A localized magnetic moment carried by the Mn ionic cores could not be detected by means of dichroic measurements.