Probing local order in (Ga,Mn)N alloys by X-ray absorption spectroscopy Original Research Article

X-ray absorption spectroscopy has been used to study the local structure of Mn atoms in Ga0.952Mn0.048N crystals. Mn K-edge absorption spectra have been analyzed in both X-ray near-edge structure and extended X-ray absorption fine structure ranges. Modelling of the spectra has been done using real-space multiple-scattering calculations (FEFF 8 code). The substitutional model with Mn on the Ga site best describes the data. The Mn–N distance is 0.12 Å longer than the Ga–N distance in GaN, and the second-shell distance (Mn–Ga) is 0.02 Å longer than Ga–Ga distance in GaN. Disorder in the second coordination shell is identified by Debye–Waller factor analysis.