We have measured the optical constants of Ga1-xMnxAs from 0.62 to 6 eV, using spectroscopic ellipsometry. The second derivatives of the dielectric function are examined through a critical point analysis, allowing us to inspect interband transitions from different points in k space. The evolution of the band structure over a broad doping range is determined. Specifically, the E-1 critical point shifts to higher energies with increased doping of Mn, while all other critical points appear unaffected. The evolution of the critical points results from the interplay between band-gap renormalization due to ionized impurities and sp-d hybridization of the Mn induced impurity band with GaAs valence and conductions bands.

Infrared spectroscopy is used to study the doping and temperature dependence of the intragap absorption in the ferromagnetic semiconductor Ga1-xMnxAs, from a paramagnetic, x=0.017 sample to a heavily doped, x=0.079 sample. Transmission and reflectance measurements coupled with a Kramers-Kronig analysis allow us to determine the optical constants of the thin films. All ferromagnetic samples show a broad absorption resonance near 200 meV, within the GaAs band gap. We present a critical analysis of possible origins of this feature, including a Mn-induced impurity band and intervalence band transitions. The overall magnitude of the real part of the frequency dependent conductivity grows with increasing Mn doping, and reaches a maximum in the x=0.052 sample where T-C saturates at the highest value (similar to70 K) for the series. We observe spectroscopic signatures of compensation and track its impact on the electronic and magnetic state across the Mn phase diagram. The temperature dependence of the far infrared spectrum reveals a significant decrease in the effective mass of itinerant carriers in the ferromagnetic state. A simple scaling relation between changes in the mass and the sample magnetization suggest that the itinerant carriers play a key role in producing the ferromagnetism in this system.

We report on the electromagnetic response of digital ferromagnetic heterostructures (DFH): systems with δ-doped MnAs layers separated by GaAs spacers of variable thickness (y). The gross features of the infrared conductivity of DFH samples are consistent with the notion that these digital structures are GaAs/Ga1-xMnxAs superlattices. This conclusion is supported by a combination of spectral weight analysis and effective medium theory. The optical properties of DFH also provide insights into the evolution of their critical temperature with GaAs spacing. In DFH a low-lying gap materializes in the energy dependent conductivity, which is interpreted as a mobility gap resulting from Anderson localization.

We report on a comprehensive optical, transport, and thermodynamic study of the Zintl compound Yb14MnSb11, demonstrating that it is the first ferromagnetic Kondo lattice compound in the underscreened limit. We propose a scenario whereby the combination of Kondo and Jahn-Teller effects provides a consistent explanation of both transport and optical data.