We have studied the electron transport in SiO 2 (Co)/GaAs and SiO 2 (Co)/Si heterostructures, where the SiO 2 (Co) structure is the granular SiO 2 film with Co nanoparticles. In SiO 2 (Co)/GaAs heterostructures giant magnetoresistance effect is observed. The effect has positive values, is expressed, when electrons are injected from the granular film into the GaAs semiconductor, and has the temperature-peak type character. The temperature location of the effect depends on the Co concentration and can be shifted by the applied electrical field. For the SiO 2 (Co)/GaAs heterostructure with 71 at.% Co the magnetoresistance reaches 1000 (10 5 %) at room temperature. On the contrary, for SiO 2 (Co)/Si heterostructures magnetoresistance values are very small (4%) and for SiO 2 (Co) films the magnetoresistance has an opposite value. High values of the magnetoresistance effect in SiO 2 (Co)/GaAs heterostructures have been explained by magnetic-field-controlled process of impact ionization in the vicinity of the spin-dependent potential barrier formed in the semiconductor near the interface. Kinetic energy of electrons, which pass through the barrier and trigger the avalanche process, is reduced by the applied magnetic field. This electron energy suppression postpones the onset of the impact ionization to higher electric fields and results in the giant magnetoresistance. The spin-dependent potential barrier is due to the exchange interaction between electrons in the accumulation electron layer in the semiconductor and d-electrons of Co. Existence of spin-polarized localized electron states in the accumulation layer results in the temperature-peak type character of the barrier and the magnetoresistance effect. Spin injector and spin-valve structure on the base of ferromagnet / semiconductor heterostructures with quantum wells with spin-polarized localized electrons in the semiconductor at the interface are considered.

Pulsed laser deposition has been used to grow thin (10–84 nm) epitaxial layers of Yttrium Iron Garnet Y3Fe5O12 (YIG) on (111)–oriented Gadolinium Gallium Garnet substrates at different growth conditions. Atomic force microscopy showed flat surface morphology both on micrometer and nanometer scales. X-ray diffraction measurements revealed that the films are coherent with the substrate in the interface plane. The interplane distance in the [111] direction was found to be by 1.2% larger than expected for YIG stoichiometric pseudomorphic film indicating presence of rhombohedral distortion in this direction. Polar Kerr effect and ferromagnetic resonance measurements showed existence of additional magnetic anisotropy, which adds to the demagnetizing field to keep magnetization vector in the film plane. The origin of the magnetic anisotropy is related to the strain in YIG films observed by XRD. Magneto-optical Kerr effect measurements revealed important role of magnetization rotation during magnetization reversal. An unusual fine structure of microwave magnetic resonance spectra has been observed in the film grown at reduced (0.5 mTorr) oxygen pressure. Surface spin wave propagation has been demonstrated in the in-plane magnetized films.

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Synthesis of nanosized yttrium iron garnet (Y3Fe5O12, YIG) films followed by the study of ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) and spin wave propagation in these films is reported. The YIG films were grown on gadolinium gallium garnet substrates by laser molecular beam epitaxy. It has been shown that spin waves propagating in YIG deposited at 700 °C have low damping. At the frequency of 3.29 GHz, the spin-wave damping parameter is less than 3.6 × 10−5. Magnetic inhomogeneities of the YIG films give the main contribution to the FMR linewidth. The contribution of the relaxation processes to the FMR linewidth is as low as 1.2%.