Study of a ferromagnetic semiconductor by the Scanning Hall Probe Microscope

The primary goal of my dissertation was to build a Scanning Hall Probe Microscope (SHPM) for studying the domain structure of a ferromagnetic semiconductor (Ga0.94Mn0.06As). This new semiconductor may be used in the emerging field of spintronics, where both the charge and spin of an electron are utilized.;The first part of this dissertation introduces the scanning probe microscopy techniques that are used for our homemade SHPM performance test and images. In chapter 2, general spintronics and ferromagnetic semiconductor are introduced. A compact design of our LT-SHPM is introduced in chapter 3. A unique taper seal based on stainless steel and Cu for opening/closing the vacuum chamber is used for our homemade SHPM. In chapter 4, Hall probes are discussed. In this chapter, ESD (Electrostatic discharge) and its repair work are discussed. Finally, in Chapter 5, SHPM imaging results of Ga0.94Mn0.06 As are discussed. We observed stripe domain patterns. We also observed the domain patterns as a function of magnetic field and temperature.