Ion beam induced ferromagnetism in semiconductors

Recently, research on diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMS) became very popular due to their large potential in future spintronics devices like spin valves or current-induced magnetic switches. Mostly, transition metal doped classical semiconductors like Si, Ge or GaAs as well as oxides have been investigated. The research faces, however, serious difficulties due to the appearance of tiny magnetic secondary phases, spinodal decomposition or magnetically active defects in the semiconductor induced by the implantation/oversaturation. It was found that those effects lead to ferromagnetic as well as magneto-transport properties which, by mistake, could be interpreted as intrinsic DMS. In this paper, I will focus on the discussion of pitfalls during magnetic and structural analysis, especially on element-specific analysis methods for the identification of the source of the ferromagnetic signal. Moreover, possibilities to overcome those difficulties will be presented.