MAGNETIC CHARACTERIZATION OF SELF-ORGANIZED ERAS CLUSTERS USING TELEGRAPH NOISE SPECTROSCOPY

We have studied the magnetic properties of self-organized ErAs aggrega tes embedded in a GaAs matrix using telegraph noise spectroscopy. The electrical transport through the samples is mesoscopic and exhibits un iversal conductance fluctuations and two-level fluctuations (TLF's). A statistical analysis of a TLF allows us to measure the extremely smal l magnetization of an isolated ErAs cluster. Rotating the sample in a magnetic field reveals the sixfold magnetic anisotropy expected for Er As with a rocksalt structure. At high temperatures the switching is th ermally activated, while at low temperatures it is the tunneling of th e magnetization which dominates. The magnetic-field dependence of the crossover temperature between the thermally activated and tunneling re gimes can be explained with a simple model.