Abstract

Thin epitaxial films of the diluted magnetic semiconductor (DMS) GaMnAs have been studied by low energy muon spin rotation and relaxation (LE-µSR) as well as by transport and magnetization measurement techniques. LE-µSR allows measurements of the distribution of magnetic field on the nanometer scale inaccessible to traditional macroscopic techniques. The spatial inhomogeneity of the magnetic field is resolved: although homogeneous above Tc, below Tc the DMS consists of ferromagnetic and paramagnetic regions of comparable volumes. In the ferromagnetic regions the local field inhomogeneity amounts to 0.03 T.