Input: Can someone sell or modify the Agency Spotter Content?

Context:
By purchasing now, you agree to the following terms. You authorize Agency Spotter to store and charge your payment method on file. Your paid account will renew automatically, unless you terminate it, or you notify Customer Service by email ([email protected]) of your decision to terminate your paid account. You must cancel your subscription before it renews in order to avoid billing of subscription fees for the renewal form to your credit card.
Should You object to any of the Terms or any subsequent modifications thereto, or become dissatisfied with the Site in any way, Your only recourse is to immediately discontinue use of the Site. Agency Spotter has the right, but is not obligated, to strictly enforce the Terms through self-help, community moderation, active investigation, litigation and prosecution.
(b) Agency Spotter will use commercially reasonable efforts to make the Services available on a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year basis, subject to Section 23 below and to downtime for maintenance purposes.
(c) Agency Spotter may from time to time modify the Services and add, change, or delete features of the Services in its sole discretion, without notice to you. Your continued use of the Service after any such changes to the Service constitutes your acceptance of these changes. Agency Spotter will use commercially reasonable efforts to post information on the Site regarding material changes to the Services.
(d) The contents of the Site, such as text, graphics, images, logos, user interfaces, visual interfaces, photographs, button icons, software, trademarks, sounds, music, artwork and computer code, and other Agency Spotter content (collectively, “Agency Spotter Content”), are protected under both United States and foreign copyright, trademark and other laws. All Agency Spotter Content is the property of Agency Spotter or its content suppliers or clients. The compilation (meaning the collection, arrangement and assembly) of all content on the Site is the exclusive property of Agency Spotter and is protected by United States and foreign copyright, trademark, and other laws. Unauthorized use of the Agency Spotter Content may violate these laws, and is strictly prohibited. You must retain all copyright, trademark, service mark and other proprietary notices contained in the original Agency Spotter Content on any authorized copy You make of the Agency Spotter Content.
(e) You agree not to sell or modify the Agency Spotter Content or reproduce, display, publicly perform, distribute, or otherwise use the Agency Spotter Content in any way for any public or commercial purpose, in connection with products or services that are not those of the Site, in any other manner that is likely to cause confusion among consumers, that disparages or discredits Agency Spotter or its licensors, that dilutes the strength of Agency Spotter’s or its licensor’s property, or that otherwise infringes Agency Spotter’s or its licensor’s intellectual property rights. You further agree to in no other way misuse Agency Spotter Content that appears on this Site. Any code that Agency Spotter creates to generate or display any Agency Spotter Content or the pages making up the Website is also protected by Agency Spotter’s copyright and You may not copy or adapt such code.
2. Site Restrictions. You may not use the Site in order to transmit, post, distribute, store or destroy material, including without limitation, the Agency Spotter Content, (a) in violation of any applicable law or regulation, (b) in a manner that will infringe the copyright, trademark, trade secret or other intellectual property rights of others or violate the privacy, publicity or other personal rights of others, (c) that is defamatory, obscene, threatening, abusive or hateful, or (d) that is in furtherance of criminal, fraudulent, or other unlawful activity. You are also prohibited from violating or attempting to violate the security of the Site and Services, including without limitation, the following activities: (a) accessing or attempting to access data not intended for You or logging into a server or account which You are not authorized to access; (b) attempting to probe, scan or test the vulnerability of a system or network or to breach security or authentication measures without proper authorization; (c) attempting to interfere with service to any other user of the Site or Services, host or network, including, without limitation, via means of submitting a virus to the Website, overloading, “flooding”, “spamming”, “mailbombing” or “crashing”; or (d) forging any TCP/IP packet header or any part of the header information in any e-mail or newsgroup posting. Violations of system or network security may result in civil and/or criminal liability.
3. Specific Prohibited Uses. The Agency Spotter Content and other features of the Site may be used only for lawful purposes. Agency Spotter specifically prohibits any other use of the Site, and You agree not to do any of the following: (a) use the Site for any purpose other than as a platform for connecting businesses and agencies, including but not limited to using the information in the Website to sell or promote any products or services; (b) post or submit to the Website any incomplete, false or inaccurate biographical information or information which is not Your own; (c) post on the Website any franchise, pyramid scheme or “club membership”; (d) send unsolicited mail or e-mail, make unsolicited phone calls or send unsolicited faxes regarding promotions and/or advertising of products or services to any other user(s) of the Website; (e) delete or revise any material posted by any other person or entity; (f) take any action that imposes an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on the Website’s infrastructure; (g) notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, use or attempt to use any engine, software, tool, agent or other automatic device, program, algorithm, methodology or mechanism (including without limitation browsers, spiders, robots, avatars or intelligent agents) to navigate or search the Website other than the search engine and search agents available from Agency Spotter on the Website and other than through generally available third party web browsers (e.g., Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari); (h) decipher, decompile, disassemble or reverse engineer any of the software comprising or in any way making up a part of the Website; or (i) aggregate, copy or duplicate in any manner any of the Agency Spotter Content or information available from the Website, without express written consent from Agency Spotter.
(a) Certain features or services offered on or through the Site to users or agencies may require you to open a user or agency account (“Agency Account”) (including setting up a user ID and password). You are entirely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of the information you hold for your account, including your password, and for any and all activity that occurs under your account until you close down your account or prove that your account security was compromised due to no fault of your own. To close your account, please email us at [email protected] You agree to notify Agency Spotter immediately of any unauthorized use of your account or password, or any other breach of security. You may be held liable for losses incurred by Agency Spotter or any other user of or visitor to the Site due to someone else using your Agency Spotter ID, password or account as a result of your failing to keep your account information secure and confidential. You may not use anyone else’s Agency Spotter ID, password or account at any time without the express permission and consent of the holder of that Agency Spotter ID, password or account. Agency Spotter cannot and will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to comply with these obligations. Agency Spotter may verify Agency Accounts to confirm that such accounts meet Agency Spotter’s minimum requirements to be an agency, as the same may be modified or amended from time to time, and may assign an administrator to such verified Agency Account.
(b) To eligible to use the Site and the Services, you must meet the following criteria and represent and warrant that you: (i) are at least 18 years of age; (ii) are not currently restricted from the Site or Services, and are not otherwise prohibited from having an Agency Spotter account, (iii) are not a competitor of Agency Spotter or are not using the Site or Services for reasons that are in competition with Agency Spotter, (iv) will only maintain one Agency Spotter account at any given time, (v) have full power and authority to enter into this Agreement and doing so will not violate any other agreement to which you are bound, (vi) will not violate any rights of Agency Spotter, including intellectual property rights such as copyright and trademark rights, and (vii) agree to provide at your cost all equipment, software and internet access necessary to use the Site or Services.
6. User Content and Submissions. You understand that all information, data, text, software, music, sound, photographs, graphics, video, advertisements, messages or other materials submitted, posted or displayed by You on or through the Website (“User Content”) is the sole responsibility of the person from which such User Content originated. Agency Spotter claims no ownership or control over any User Content. You or a third party licensor, as appropriate, retain all patent, trademark and copyright to any User Content You submit, post or display on or through Agency Spotter and You are responsible for protecting those rights, as appropriate. By submitting, posting or displaying User Content on or through Agency Spotter, You grant Agency Spotter a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to reproduce, adapt, distribute and publish such User Content through Agency Spotter. In addition, by submitting, posting or displaying User Content which is intended to be available to the general public, You grant Agency Spotter a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to reproduce, adapt, distribute and publish such User Content for the purpose of promoting Agency Spotter Services. Agency Spotter will discontinue this licensed use within a commercially reasonable period after such User Content is removed from the Site. Agency Spotter reserves the right to refuse to accept, post, display or transmit any User Content in its sole discretion.
You also represent and warrant that You have the right to grant, or that the holder of any rights has completely and effectively waived all such rights and validly and irrevocably granted to You the right to grant, the license stated above. If You post User Content in any public area of the Website, You also permit any user of the Website to access, display, view, store and reproduce such User Content for personal use. Subject to the foregoing, the owner of such User Content placed on the Website retains any and all rights that may exist in such User Content.
Agency Spotter does not represent or guarantee the truthfulness, accuracy, or reliability of User Content or endorse any opinions expressed by users of the Website. You acknowledge that any reliance on material posted by other users will be at Your own risk.
The following is a partial list of User Content that is prohibited on the Website. Prohibited Content includes, but is not limited to, Content that: is implicitly or explicitly offensive, such as User Content that engages in, endorses or promotes racism, bigotry, discrimination, hatred or physical harm of any kind against any group or individual; harasses, incites harassment or advocates harassment of any group or individual; involves the transmission of “junk mail”, “chain letters,” or unsolicited mass mailing or “spamming”; promotes or endorses false or misleading information or illegal activities or conduct that is abusive, threatening, obscene, defamatory or libelous; promotes or endorses an illegal or unauthorized copy of another person’s copyrighted work, such as providing or making available pirated computer programs or links to them, providing or making available information to circumvent manufacture-installed copy-protect devices, or providing or making available pirated music or other media or links to pirated music or other media files; contains restricted or password only access pages, or hidden pages or images; displays or links to pornographic, indecent or sexually explicit material of any kind; provides or links to material that exploits people under the age of 18 in a sexual, violent or other manner, or solicits personal information from anyone under 18; or provides instructional information about illegal activities or other activities prohibited by these Terms and Conditions, including without limitation, making or buying illegal weapons, violating someone’s privacy, providing or creating computer viruses or pirating any media; and/or solicits passwords or personal identifying information from other users.
It is your responsibility to keep your Agency Spotter profile information accurate and updated.
7. User-to-User Communications and Sharing (Agency Spotter Groups, Ratings, Reviews, Updates, Agency Pages, etc.). Agency Spotter offers various forums such as Agency Spotter Groups, Ratings, Reviews, and Updates, where you can post your observations and comments on designated topics. Agency Spotter also enables sharing of information by allowing users to post updates, including links to news articles and other information such as product recommendations, job opportunities, and other content to their profile and other parts of the Site, such as Agency Spotter Groups and Agency Pages. Agency Spotter members can create Agency Spotter Groups and Agency Pages for free; however, Agency Spotter may close or transfer Agency Spotter Groups or Agency Pages, or remove content from them if the content violates these Terms or others’ intellectual property rights. To create an Agency Spotter Agency Page, the Agency must be a company or legal entity that meets Agency Spotter’s minimum requirements for an Agency, and you must have the authority to create the Agency Page on behalf of the third party Agency.
For clarity, only DMCA Notices should go to the Copyright Agent; any other feedback, comments, requests for technical support, and other communications should be directed to: [email protected] You acknowledge that if you fail to comply with all of the requirements of this Section, your DMCA Notice may not be valid.
Upon receipt of a Notice, Agency Spotter will take whatever action, in its sole discretion, it deems appropriate, including removal of the challenged material from the Site and/or termination of the User’s account in appropriate circumstances. Please note that a Complainant may be liable for damages (including costs and attorneys’ fees) if he or she knowingly makes a material misrepresentation that content is infringing.
(i) If you have posted material subject to a DMCA Notice that allegedly infringes a copyright (the “Counterclaimant”), you may send Agency Spotter a written Counter Notice pursuant to Section 512(g), (ii) and 512(g), (iii) of the DMCA. When Agency Spotter receives a Counter Notice, it may, in its discretion, reinstate the material in question not less than ten (10) nor more than fourteen (14) days after receiving the Counter Notice unless Agency Spotter first receives notice from the Claimant that he or she has filed a legal action to restrain the allegedly infringing activity. Please note that Agency Spotter will send a copy of the Counter Notice to the address provided by the Claimant. A Counterclaimant may be liable for damages (including costs and attorneys’ fees) if he or she knowingly makes a material misrepresentation that that material or activity was removed or disabled by mistake or misidentification.
1. Identification of the material that has been removed or to which access has been disabled and the location at which the material appeared before it was removed or access to it was disabled.
2. A statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled.
3. Your name, address, and telephone number, and a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of Federal District Court for the judicial district in which the address is located, or if your address is outside of the United States, for any judicial district in which Agency Spotter may be found, and that you will accept service of process from the person who provided notification under subsection (c)(1)(C) of the DMCA or an agent of such person.
(c) AGENCY SPOTTER HAS NO OBLIGATION TO ADJUDICATE CLAIMS OF INFRINGEMENT – EACH USER’S AGREEMENT TO HOLD AGENCY SPOTTER HARMLESS FROM CLAIMS. Claimants, Counterclaimants, and users understand that Agency Spotter is not an intellectual property tribunal. While Agency Spotter may, in its discretion, use the information provided in a DMCA Notice and Counter Notice in order to decide how to respond to infringement claims, Agency Spotter is not responsible for determining the merits of such claims. If a Counterclaimant responds to a claim of infringement by providing a Counter Notice, the Counterclaimant agrees that if Agency Spotter restores or maintains the content, the Counterclaimant will defend and hold Agency Spotter harmless from any resulting claims of infringement against Agency Spotter.
10. Advertisements and Other Potential Sources Of Revenue. Some of the Services may now or in the future be supported by advertising revenue, pay-per-click mechanisms, or other funding, and the Site may display advertisements and promotions. These advertisements may be targeted to the content of information stored via the Site, queries made through the Services, or other criteria. The manner, mode and extent of advertising on the Site are subject to change without specific notice to you. In consideration for Agency Spotter granting you access to and use of the Site and the Services, you agree that the Agency Spotter may place such advertising on the Site and/or incorporate such advertisements into the Services.
11. DISCLAIMERS. THE SITE AND ITS CONTENT AND THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND AGENCY SPOTTER MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, ABOUT THE IMAGES OR SITE INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE UNDER APPLICABLE LAW. AGENCY SPOTTER DOES NOT WARRANT THAT ACCESS TO THE SITE OR ITS CONTENTS OR THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, OR THAT THIS SITE OR THE SERVERS THAT MAKE IT AVAILABLE ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. AGENCY SPOTTER DOES NOT WARRANT OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS REGARDING THE USE OR THE RESULTS OF THE USE OF ANY CONTENT ON THE SITE IN TERMS OF ITS CORRECTNESS, ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE. ACCORDINGLY, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOUR USE OF THE SITE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. YOU (AND NOT AGENCY SPOTTER) ASSUME THE ENTIRE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR, OR CORRECTION RESULTING FROM COMPUTER MALFUNCTION, VIRUSES OR THE LIKE. APPLICABLE LAW MAY NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, SO THE ABOVE EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
12. Limitation on Liability. Neither Agency Spotter, nor its licensors, representatives, affiliates, employees, shareholders or directors (collectively, “Agency Spotter Affiliates”), shall be cumulatively responsible or liable for (a) any damages in excess of three (3) times the most recent monthly fee that you paid for a Premium Service, if any, or US $100, whichever amount is greater, or (b) any damages of any kind including, without limitation, lost business, profits or data (or the cost to recreate such data), direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, compensatory, exemplary, special or punitive damages that may result from Your access to or use of Website, the Agency Spotter Content, or the Services, or any content or other materials on, accessed through or downloaded from the Site. The allocations of liability in this Section represent the agreed and bargained-for understanding of the parties and the fees herein reflects such allocation. These limitations of liability will apply notwithstanding any failure of essential purpose of any limited remedy, whether your claim is based in contract, tort, statute or any other legal theory, and whether we knew or should have known about the possibility of such damages; provided, however, that this limitation of liability shall not apply if you have entered into a separate written agreement to purchase Premium Services with a separate Limitation of Liability provision that expressly supersedes this Section in relation to those Premium Services.
13. Indemnification. In the event that You use the Website, the Agency Spotter Content, or any portion thereof, in any manner not authorized by Agency Spotter, or if You otherwise infringe any intellectual property rights or any other rights relating to other users, You agree to indemnify and hold Agency Spotter, its subsidiaries, affiliates, licensors and representatives, harmless against any losses, expenses, costs or damages, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, incurred by them as a result of unauthorized use of the Website or the Agency Spotter Content and/or Your breach or alleged breach of these Terms and Conditions.
(a) You agree that Agency Spotter and its licensors own all intellectual property rights in and to the Services, the Site and related Software, including but not limited to the look and feel, structure, organization, design, algorithms, templates, data models, logic flow, text, graphics, logos, and screen displays associated therewith.
(b) You will not reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble the Software, or otherwise attempt to reconstruct or discover the source code for the Software. You further agree not to resell, lease, assign, distribute, time share or otherwise commercially exploit or make the Services available to any third party for such third party’s benefit.
(c) You may make a single copy of the Downloaded Software for backup purposes only; provided that any such copies contain the same proprietary rights notices that appear on the Downloaded Software. Agency Spotter reserves all rights in the Services and Software not expressly granted to you hereunder. As used herein, “Software” means Agency Spotter’s proprietary software used to deliver the Services, made available to you as part of the Site and/or Services, and all updates and associated documentation thereto made available as a part of the Site or Services pursuant to these Terms, including Downloadable Software. The term “Downloadable Software” means client software downloaded by you from the Site that augments your use of the Site and/or Services, including add-ins, sample code, APIs and ancillary programs.
(d) Agency Spotter shall have a perpetual, royalty-free, worldwide, and transferable license to use or incorporate into the Site and Services any suggestions, ideas, enhancements, feedback, or other information provided by you related to the Site or Services.
(e) Agency Spotter may derive and compile aggregated and/or analytical information from your usage of the Site and Services. Such aggregated data and metadata may be used for Agency Spotter’s own purposes without restriction, including, but not limited to, using such data in conjunction with data from other sources to improve Agency Spotter’s products and services and to create new products.
15. Third Party Software and Features; Agency Spotter Applications. (a) Agency Spotter may make software from third-party companies available to You. To download such software, You may be required to agree to the respective software licenses and/or warranties of such third-party software. Each software product is subject to the individual company’s terms and conditions, and the agreement will be between You and the respective company. This means that Agency Spotter does not guarantee that any software You download will be free of any contaminating or destructive code, such as viruses, worms or Trojan horses. Agency Spotter does not offer any warranty on any third-party software You download using the Site. Further, the Site and/or Service may contain features, functionality and information that are provided through or by third-party content, software, websites, and/or system (“Third Party Materials”). Your use and access of these features and functionality are subject to the terms published or otherwise made available by the third-party providers of Third Party Materials. Agency Spotter has no responsibility for any Third-Party Materials, and you irrevocably waive any claim against Agency Spotter with respect to such Third-Party Materials.
(b) Agency Spotter may also offer the Services through applications built using Agency Spotter’s platform (“Agency Spotter Applications”), including smart phone applications, “Share” and other similar buttons and other interactive plugins distributed on websites across the Internet. Agency Spotter Applications are distinct from Third-Party Materials and applications address in Section 14(a), above. If you use an Agency Spotter application or interact with a website that has deployed a plugin, you agree that information about you and your use of the Services, including, but not limited to, your device, your mobile carrier, your internet access provider, your physical location, and/or web pages containing Agency Spotter plugins that load in your browser may be communicated to us. You acknowledge that you are responsible for all charges and necessary permissions related to accessing Agency Spotter through your mobile access provider. You should therefore check with your provider to find out if the Services are available and the terms for these services for your specific mobile devices. Finally, by using any downloadable application to enable your use of the Services, you are explicitly confirming your acceptance of the terms of the End User License Agreement associated with the application provided at download or installation, or as may be updated from time to time.
16. International Use. Agency Spotter makes no representation that materials on this site are appropriate or available for use in locations outside the United States, and accessing them from territories where their contents are illegal is prohibited. Those who choose to access this site from other locations do so on their own initiative and are responsible for compliance with local laws.
17. Dispute Resolution. These Terms and any claim, cause of action or dispute (“claim”) arising out of or related to these Terms shall be governed by the laws of the State of Georgia, regardless of your country of origin or where you access Agency Spotter, and notwithstanding any conflicts of law principles and the United Nations Convention for the International Sale of Goods. You and Agency Spotter agree that all claims arising out of or related to these Terms must be resolved exclusively by a state or federal court located in Fulton County, Georgia, except as otherwise mutually agreed in writing by the parties or as described in the Arbitration option in Section 16(b), below. You and Agency Spotter agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction of the courts located within Fulton County, Georgia, for the purpose of litigating all such claims. Notwithstanding the foregoing, you agree that Agency Spotter shall still be allowed to seek injunctive remedies (or an equivalent type of urgent legal relief) in any jurisdiction.
18. Arbitration. You agree that any dispute, claim or controversy arising hereunder or relating in any way to the Terms, shall be settled by binding arbitration in Fulton County, Georgia, in accordance with the commercial arbitration rules of Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services (“JAMS”). The arbitrator shall issue a written decision specifying the basis for the award made. The party filing a claim or counterclaim in the arbitration proceeding shall pay the deposit(s) determined by JAMS with respect to such claim or counterclaim. All other costs associated with the arbitration and imposed by JAMS shall be paid as determined by the arbitrator(s) and, in absence of such determination, equally by each party to the arbitration. In addition, unless the arbitrator awards payment of reasonable attorney and other fees to a party, each party to the arbitration shall be responsible for its own attorneys’ fees and other professional fees incurred in connection with the arbitration. Determinations of the arbitrator will be final and binding upon the parties to the arbitration, and judgment upon the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court having jurisdiction, or application may be made to such court for a judicial acceptance of the award and an order of enforcement, as the case may be. The arbitrator shall apply the substantive law of the State of Georgia, without giving effect to its conflict of laws rules.
19. Export Control. You agree to comply with all relevant export laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, the U.S. Export Administration Regulations and Executive Orders (“Export Controls”). You warrant that you are not a person, company or destination restricted or prohibited by Export Controls (“Restricted Person”). You will not, directly or indirectly, export, re-export, divert, or transfer the Site or Service or any related software, any portion thereof or any materials, items or technology relating to Agency Spotter’s business or related technical data or any direct product thereof to any Restricted Person, or otherwise to any end user and without obtaining the required authorizations from the appropriate governmental entities.
(a) These Terms will continue until terminated in accordance with this Section.
(b) You may cancel your legal agreement with Agency Spotter at any time by (i) notifying Agency Spotter in writing, (ii) ceasing to use the Services, and (iii) closing your accounts for all of the Services which you use, if we have made this option available to you. Your cancellation of the Services will not alter your obligation to pay all charges incurred prior to your effective date of termination.
Agency Spotter may terminate its legal agreement with you if, (i) you have breached any provision of the Terms (or have acted in manner which clearly shows that you do not intend to, or are unable to comply with the provisions of the Terms), or (ii) Agency Spotter is required to do so by law (for example, where the provision of the Services to you is, or becomes, unlawful), or (iii) Agency Spotter is transitioning to no longer providing the Services to users in the country in which you are resident or from which you use the service, or (iv) the provision of the Services to you by Agency Spotter is, in Agency Spotters’ opinion, no longer commercially viable.
(c) The terms provided in Sections 2, 3, 6, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 19, 20, 21 and 22 of these Terms shall survive any termination of these Terms.
21. Independent Contractors. The parties are and intend to be independent contractors with respect to the Services contemplated hereunder. You agree that neither you nor any of your employees or contractors shall be considered as having an employee status with Agency Spotter. No form of joint employer, joint venture, partnership, or similar relationship between the parties is intended or hereby created.
22. Assignment and Delegation. You may not assign or delegate any rights or obligations under these Terms. Any purported assignment or delegation shall be ineffective. We may freely assign or delegate all rights and obligations under these Terms, fully or partially, without notice to you. We may also substitute, by way of unilateral novation, effective upon notice to you, Agency Spotter Inc. for any third party that assumes our rights and obligations under these Terms.
The personally identifiable information we collect from you allows us to provide you with the Services and to enable users to navigate and enjoy using the Site. We will also use your personally identifiable information to develop, improve and advertise the Site and Services. We may also use your personally identifiable information for internal purposes such as auditing, data analysis and research to improve our Services and customer communications. We do not rent, sell or otherwise provide your personally identifiable information to third parties without your consent, except as described in this policy or as required by law.
When you register with us through the Site or Services and become a Registered User, or when you wish to contact another Registered User, we will ask you for personally identifiable information. This refers to information about you that can be used to contact or identify you (“Personally Identifiable Information“). Personally Identifiable Information includes, but is not limited to, your name, phone numbers, email address, home postal address, business address, social media user names, employer/affiliated organization, reasons for accessing the Site, and intended usage of requested information, but does not include your credit card number or billing information. We may also use your email address or phone number (if provided by you) to contact you regarding changes to the Services; system maintenance and outage issues; account issues; or otherwise to troubleshoot problems. In order to process some of your transactions through the Site and Services, we may also ask for your credit card number and other billing information (“Billing Information“; and, together with Personally Identifiable Information, “Personal Information“).
Information you provide to us also includes your account profile and your contributions to discussion groups and community features Agency Spotter may offer. Do not upload or insert any information to or into the Site or Services that you do not want to be shared or used in the manner described in this section.
In addition, when you use the Site, our servers automatically record certain information that your web browser sends whenever you visit any website. These server logs may include information such as your web request, Internet Protocol address, browser type, browser language, referring/exit pages and URLs, platform type, number of clicks, domain names, landing pages, pages viewed and the order of those pages, the amount of time spent on particular pages, the date and time of your request, and one or more cookies that may uniquely identify your browser.
Information from third party services and other websites.
Do not upload or insert any information to or into the Site or Services that you do not want to be shared or used in the manner described in this section.
Advertisements. Advertisers who present ads on the Site may use technological methods to measure the effectiveness of their ads and to personalize advertising content. You may use your browser cookie settings to limit or prevent the placement of cookies by advertising networks. Agency Spotter does not share personally identifiable information with advertisers unless we get your permission.
Links. When you click on links on Agency Spotter you may leave our site. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of other sites, and we encourage you to read their privacy statements.
If we are requested to disclose your information to a government agency or official, we will do so if we believe in good faith, after considering your privacy interests and other relevant factors, that such disclosure is necessary to: (i) conform to legal requirements or comply with a legal process with which we are involved; (ii) protect our rights or property or the rights or property of our affiliated companies; (iii) prevent a crime or protect national security; or (iv) protect the personal safety of Site users or the public. Because Agency Spotter is a United States limited liability company and information collected on our Site is stored in whole or in part in the United States, your information may be subject to U.S. law.
We also reserve the right to disclose Personally Identifiable Information and/or other information about users that Agency Spotter believes, in good faith, is appropriate or necessary to enforce our agreements, take precautions against liability, investigate and defend itself against ay third-party claims or allegations, assist government enforcement agencies, protect the security or integrity of our Site or Services, and protect the rights, property or personal safety of Agency Spotter, our users and others.
Cookies allow us to (i) manage, present and keep track of temporary information, such as data you upload onto the Site for use with the Services; (ii) register you as a Registered User on the Site or in other various programs associated with the Site; (iii) remember you when you log in to the places on the Site that require you to be a Registered User of the Site; (iv) help us understand the size of our audience and traffic patterns; (v) collect and record information about what you viewed on the Site; and (vi) deliver specific information to you based on your interests.
When you access the Site, the Site automatically collects certain non-personally identifiable information through the use of electronic images known as web beacons (sometimes called single-pixel gifs) and log files. Such information may include your IP address, browser type, the date, time and duration of your access and usage of the Site and whether you opened emails You received from us.
This information is collected for all visits to the Site and then analyzed in the aggregate. This information is useful for, among other things, tracking the performance of our online advertising, such as online banner ads, and determining where to place future advertising on other websites.
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Answer: No.


Input: What are some potential applications of ferromagnetic semiconductors?

Context:
\section{introduction}
In the past few years, the synthesis of ferromagnetic semiconductors has become a major challenge for spintronics. Actually, growing a magnetic and semiconducting material could lead to promising advances like spin injection into non magnetic semiconductors, or electrical manipulation of carrier induced magnetism in magnetic semiconductors \cite{ohno00,Bouk02}. Up to now, major efforts have focused on diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMS) in which the host semiconducting matrix is randomly substituted by transition metal (TM) ions such as Mn, Cr, Ni, Fe or Co \cite{Diet02}. However Curie temperatures ($T_{C}$) in DMS remain rather low and TM concentrations must be drastically raised in order to increase $T_{C}$ up to room temperature. That usually leads to phase separation and the formation of secondary phases. It was recently shown that phase separation induced by spinodal decomposition could lead to a significant increase of $T_{C}$ \cite{Diet06,Fuku06}. For semiconductors showing $T_{C}$ higher than room temperature one can foresee the fabrication of nanodevices such as memory nanodots, or nanochannels for spin injection. Therefore, the precise control of inhomogeneities appears as a new challenge which may open a way to industrial applications of ferromagnetism in semiconductors.

The increasing interest in group-IV magnetic semiconductors can also be explained by their potential compatibility with the existing silicon technology. In 2002, carrier mediated ferromagnetism was reported in  MBE grown Ge$_{0.94}$Mn$_{0.06}$ films by Park \textit{et al.} \cite{Park02}. The maximum critical temperature was 116 K. Recently many publications indicate a significant increase of $T_{C}$ in Ge$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$ material depending on growth conditions \cite{Pint05,Li05,tsui03}. Cho \textit{et al.} reported a Curie temperature as high as 285 K \cite{Cho02}.
Taking into account the strong tendency of Mn ions to form intermetallic compounds in germanium, a detailed investigation of the nanoscale structure is required. Up to now, only a few studies have focused on the nanoscale composition in Ge$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$ films. Local chemical inhomogeneities have been recently reported by Kang \textit{et al.} \cite{Kang05} who evidenced a micrometer scale segregation of manganese in large Mn rich stripes. Ge$_3$Mn$_5$ as well as Ge$_8$Mn$_{11}$ clusters embedded in a germanium matrix have been reported by many authors. However, Curie temperatures never exceed 300 K \cite{Bihl06,Morr06,Pass06,Ahle06}. Ge$_3$Mn$_5$ clusters exhibit a Curie temperature of 296 K \cite{Mass90}. This phase frequently observed in Ge$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$ films is the most stable (Ge,Mn) alloy. The other stable compound Ge$_8$Mn$_{11}$ has also been observed in nanocrystallites surrounded with pure germanium \cite{Park01}. Ge$_8$Mn$_{11}$ and Ge$_3$Mn$_5$ phases are ferromagnetic but their metallic character considerably complicates their potential use as spin injectors.
Recently, some new Mn-rich nanostructures have been evidenced in Ge$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$ layers. Sugahara \textit{et al.} \cite{Sugh05} reported the formation of high Mn content (between 10 \% and 20 \% of Mn) amorphous Ge$_{1-x}$Mn$_x$ precipitates  in a Mn-free germanium matrix. Mn-rich coherent cubic clusters were observed by Ahlers \textit{et al.} \cite{Ahle06} which exhibit a Curie temperatures below 200 K. Finally, high-$T_{C}$ ($>$ 400 K) Mn-rich nanocolumns have been evidenced \cite{Jame06} which could lead to silicon compatible room temperature operational devices.\\
In the present paper, we investigate the structural and magnetic properties of Ge$_{1-x}$Mn$_x$ thin films for low growth temperatures ($<$ 200$^{\circ}$C) and low Mn concentrations (between 1 \% and 11 \%). By combining TEM, x-Ray diffraction and SQUID magnetometry, we could identify different magnetic phases. We show that depending on growth conditions, we obtain either Mn-rich nanocolumns or Ge$_{3}$Mn$_{5}$ clusters embedded in a germanium matrix. We discuss the structural and magnetic properties of these nanostructures as a function of manganese concentration and growth temperature. We also discuss the magnetic anisotropy of nanocolumns and
Ge$_3$Mn$_5$ clusters.

\section{Sample growth}

Growth was performed using solid sources molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) by co-depositing Ge and Mn evaporated from standard Knudsen effusion cells.  Deposition rate was low ($\approx$ 0.2 \AA.s$^{-1}$). Germanium substrates were epi-ready Ge(001) wafers with a residual n-type doping and resistivity of 10$^{15}$ cm$^{-3}$ and 5 $\Omega.cm$ respectively. After thermal desorption of the surface oxide, a 40 nm thick Ge buffer layer was grown at 250$^{\circ}$C, resulting in a 2 $\times$ 1 surface reconstruction as observed by reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) (see Fig. 1a). Next, 80 nm thick Ge$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$ films were subsequently grown  at low substrate temperature (from 80$^{\circ}$C to 200$^{\circ}$C). Mn content has been determined by x-ray fluorescence measurements performed on thick samples ($\approx$ 1 $\mu m$ thick) and complementary Rutherford Back Scattering (RBS) on thin Ge$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$ films grown on silicon. Mn concentrations range from 1 \% to 11\% Mn.

For Ge$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$ films grown at substrate temperatures below 180$^{\circ}$C, after the first monolayer (ML) deposition, the  2 $\times$ 1 surface reconstruction almost totally disappears. After depositing few MLs, a slightly diffuse 1 $\times$ 1 streaky RHEED pattern and a very weak 2 $\times$ 1 reconstruction (Fig. 1b) indicate a predominantly two-dimensional growth. For growth temperatures above 180$^{\circ}$C additional spots appear in the RHEED pattern during the Ge$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$ growth (Fig. 1c). These spots may correspond to the formation of very small secondary phase crystallites. The nature of these crystallites will be discussed below.

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations were performed using a JEOL 4000EX microscope with an acceleration voltage of 400 kV. Energy filtered transmission electron microscopy (EFTEM) was done using a JEOL 3010 microscope equipped with a Gatan Image Filter . Sample preparation was carried out by standard mechanical polishing and argon ion milling for cross-section investigations and plane views were prepared by wet etching with H$_3$PO$_4$-H$_2$O$_2$ solution \cite{Kaga82}.

\begin{figure}[htb]
    \center
    \includegraphics[width=.29\linewidth]{./fig1a.eps}
    \includegraphics[width=.29\linewidth]{./fig1b.eps}
    \includegraphics[width=.29\linewidth]{./fig1c.eps}
    \caption{RHEED patterns recorded during the growth of Ge$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$ films: (a) 2 $\times$ 1 surface reconstruction of the germanium buffer layer. (b) 1 $\times$ 1 streaky RHEED pattern obtained at low growth temperatures ($T_g<$180$^{\circ}$C). (c) RHEED pattern of a sample grown at $T_g=$180$^{\circ}$C. The additional spots reveal the presence of Ge$_3$Mn$_5$ clusters at the surface of the film.}
\label{fig1}
\end{figure}

\section{Structural properties \label{structural}}

\begin{figure}[htb]
    \center
	\includegraphics[width=.49\linewidth]{./fig2a.eps}
	\includegraphics[width=.49\linewidth]{./fig2b.eps}
	 \includegraphics[width=.49\linewidth]{./fig2c.eps}
	 \includegraphics[width=.49\linewidth]{./fig2d.eps}
    \caption{Transmission electron micrographs of a Ge$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$ film grown at 130$^{\circ}$C and containing 6 \% of manganese. (a) cross-section along the [110] axis : we clearly see the presence of nanocolumns elongated along the growth axis. (b) High resolution image of the interface between the Ge$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$ film and the Ge buffer layer. The Ge$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$ film exhibits the same diamond structure as pure germanium. No defect can be seen which could be caused by the presence of nanocolumns. (c) Plane view micrograph performed on the same sample confirms the columnar structure and gives the density and size distribution of nanocolumns. (d) Mn chemical map obtained by energy filtered transmission electron microcopy (EFTEM). The background was carefully substracted from pre-edge images. Bright areas correspond to Mn-rich regions.}
\label{fig2}
\end{figure}

In samples grown at 130$^{\circ}$C and containing 6 \% Mn, we can observe vertical elongated nanostructures \textit{i.e.} nanocolumns as shown in Fig. 2a. Nanocolumns extend through the whole Ge$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$ film thickness. From the high resolution TEM image shown in Fig. 2b, we deduce their average diameter around 3 nm. Moreover in Fig. 2b, the interface between the Ge buffer layer and the Ge$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$ film is flat and no defect propagates from the interface into the film. The Ge$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$ film is a perfect single crystal in epitaxial relationship with the substrate. In Fig. 2c is shown a plane view micrograph of the same sample confirming the presence of nanocolumns in the film. From this image, we can deduce the size and density of nanocolumns. The nanocolumns density is 13000 $\rm{\mu m}^{-2}$ with a mean diameter of 3 nm which is coherent with cross-section measurements. In order to estimate the chemical composition of these nanocolumns, we further performed chemical mapping using EFTEM. In Fig. 2d we show a cross sectional Mn chemical map of the Ge$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$ film. This map shows that the formation of nanocolumns is a consequence of Mn segregation. Nanocolumns are Mn rich and the surrounding matrix is Mn poor. However, it is impossible to deduce the Mn concentration in Ge$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$ nanocolumns from this cross section. Indeed, in cross section observations, the columns diameter is much smaller than the probed film thickness and the signal comes from the superposititon of the Ge matrix and Mn-rich nanocolumns. In order to quantify Mn concentration inside the nanocolumns and inside the Ge matrix, EELS measurements (not shown here) have been performed in a plane view geometry \cite{Jame06}. These observations revealed that the matrix Mn content is below 1 \% (detection limit of our instrument). Measuring the surface occupied by the matrix and the nanocolumns in plane view TEM images, and considering the average Mn concentration in the sample (6 \%), we can estimate the Mn concentration in the nanocolumns. The Mn concentration measured by EELS being between 0\% and 1\%, we can conclude that the Mn content in the nanocolumns is between 30 \% and 38 \%.\\
For samples grown between 80$^\circ$C and 150$^\circ$C cross section and plane view TEM observations reveal the presence of Mn rich nanocolumns surrounded with a Mn poor Ge matrix. In order to investigate the influence of Mn concentration on the structural properties of Ge$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$ films, ten samples have been grown at 100$^\circ$C and at 150$^\circ$C with Mn concentrations of 1.3 \%, 2.3 \%, 4 \%, 7 \% and 11.3 \%. Their structural properties have been investigated by plane view TEM observations.

\begin{figure}[htb]
    \center
    \includegraphics[width=.98\linewidth]{./fig3a.eps}
	\includegraphics[width=.45\linewidth]{./fig3b.eps}
		\includegraphics[width=.45\linewidth]{./fig3c.eps}
    \caption{Nanocolumns size and density as a function of growth conditions. Samples considered have been grown at 100$^{\circ}$C and 150$^{\circ}$C respectively. (a) Mn concentration dependence of the size distribution. (b) columns density as a function of Mn concentration. (c) Volume fraction of the nanocolumns as a function of Mn concentration.}
 \label{fig3}
\end{figure}

For samples grown at 100$^\circ$C with Mn concentrations below 5 \% the nanocolumns mean diameter is 1.8$\pm$0.2 nm. The evolution of columns density as a fonction of Mn concentration is reported in figure 3b. By increasing the Mn concentration from 1.3 \% to 4 \% we observe a significant increase of the columns density from 13000 to 30000 $\rm{\mu m}^{-2}$. For Mn concentrations higher than 5 \% the density seems to reach a plateau corresponding to 35000 $\rm{\mu m}^{-2}$ and their diameter slightly increases from 1.8 nm at 4 \% to 2.8 nm at 11.3 \%. By plotting the volume fraction occupied by the columns in the film as a function of Mn concentration, we observe a linear dependence for Mn contents below 5 \%. The non-linear behavior above 5 \% may indicate that the mechanism of Mn incorporation is different in this concentration range, leading to an increase of Mn concentration in the columns or in the matrix. For samples grown at 100$^\circ$C, nanocolumns are always fully coherent with the surrounding matrix (Fig. 4a).

Increasing the Mn content in the samples grown at 150$^\circ$C from 1.3 \% to 11.3 \% leads to a decrease of the columns density (fig 3b). Moreover, their average diameter increases significantly and size distributions become very broad (see Fig. 3a). For the highest Mn concentration (11.3 \%) we observe the coexistence of very small columns with a diameter of 2.5 nm and very large columns with a diameter of 9 nm. In samples grown at 150$^\circ$C containing 11.3 \% of Mn, the crystalline structure of nanocolumns is also highly modified. In plane view TEM micrographs, one can see columns exhibiting several different crystalline structures. We still observe some columns which are fully coherent with the Ge matrix like in the samples grown at lower temperature. Nevertheless, observations performed on these samples grown at 150$^\circ$C and with 11.3\% Mn reveal some uniaxially \cite{Jame06} or fully relaxed columns exhibiting a misfit of 4 \% between the matrix and the columns and leading to misfit dislocations at the interface between the column and the matrix (see fig. 4b). Thus we can conclude that coherent columns are probably in strong compression and the surrounding matrix in tension. On the same samples (T$_g$=150$^{\circ}$C, 11.3\% Mn), we also observe a large number of highly disordered nanocolumns leading to an amorphous like TEM contrast(fig. 4c).

\begin{figure}[htb]
    \center
   \includegraphics[width=.31\linewidth]{./fig4a.eps}
	\includegraphics[width=.31\linewidth]{./fig4b.eps}
	\includegraphics[width=.31\linewidth]{./fig4c.eps}
    \caption{Plane view high resolution transmission electron micrographs of different types of nanocolumns : (a) typical structure of a column grown at 100$^{\circ}$C. The crystal structure is exactly the same as germanium . (b) Partially relaxed nanocolumn. One can see dislocations at the interface between the columns and the matrix leading to stress relaxation. (c) Amorphous nanocolumn. These columns are typical in samples grown at 150$^{\circ}$C with high Mn contents.}
 \label{fig4}
\end{figure}

In conclusion, we have evidenced a complex mechanism of Mn incorporation in Mn doped Ge films grown at low temperature. In particular Mn incorporation is highly inhomogeneous. For very low growth temperatures (below 120$^\circ$C) the diffusion of Mn atoms leads to the formation of Mn rich, vertical nanocolumns. Their density mostly depends on Mn concentration and their mean diameter is about 2 nm. These results can be compared with the theoretical predictions of Fukushima \textit{et al.} \cite{Fuku06}: they proposed a model of spinodal decomposition in (Ga,Mn)N and (Zn,Cr)Te based on layer by layer growth conditions and a strong pair attraction between Mn atoms which leads to the formation of nanocolumns. This model may also properly describe the formation of Mn rich nanocolumns in our samples. Layer by layer growth conditions can be deduced from RHEED pattern evolution during growth. For all the samples grown at low temperature, RHEED observations clearly indicate two-dimensional growth. Moreover, Ge/Ge$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$/Ge heterostructures have been grown and observed by TEM (see Fig. 5). Ge$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$/Ge (as well as Ge/Ge$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$) interfaces are very flat and sharp thus confirming a two-dimensional, layer by layer growth mode. Therefore we can assume that the formation of Mn rich nanocolumns is a consequence of 2D-spinodal decomposition.

\begin{figure}[htb]
    \center
	\includegraphics[width=.7\linewidth]{./fig5.eps}
    \caption{Cross section high resolution micrograph of a Ge/Ge$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$/Ge/Ge$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$/Ge heterostructure. This sample has been grown at 130 $^{\circ}$C with 6\% Mn. Ge$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$ layers are 15 nm thick and Ge spacers 5 nm thick. We clearly see the sharpness of both Ge$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$/Ge and Ge/Ge$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$ interfaces. Mn segregation leading to the columns formation already takes place in very thin Ge$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$ films.}
\label{fig5}
\end{figure}

For growth temperatures higher than 160$^\circ$C, cross section TEM and EFTEM observations (not shown here) reveal the coexistence of two Mn-rich phases: nanocolumns and Ge$_{3}$Mn$_{5}$ nanoclusters embedded in the germanium matrix. A typical high resolution TEM image is shown in figure 6.
Ge$_{3}$Mn$_{5}$ clusters are not visible in RHEED patterns for temperatures below 180$^\circ$C. To investigate the nature of these clusters, we performed x-ray diffraction in $\theta-2\theta$ mode. Diffraction scans were acquired on a high resolution diffractometer using the copper K$_\alpha$ radiation and on the GMT station of the BM32 beamline at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF). Three samples grown at different temperatures and/or annealed at high temperature were investigated. The two first samples are Ge$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$ films grown at 130$^\circ$C and 170$^\circ$C respectively. The third one has been grown at 130$^\circ$C and post-growth annealed at 650$^\circ$C. By analysing x-ray diffraction spectra, we can evidence two different crystalline structures. For the sample grown at 130$^\circ$C, the $\theta-2\theta$ scan only reveals the (004) Bragg peak of the germanium crystal, confirming the good epitaxial relationship between the layer and the substrate, and the absence of secondary phases in the film in spite of a high dynamics of the order of 10$^7$. For both samples grown at 170$^\circ$C and annealed at 650$^\circ$C, $\theta-2\theta$ spectra are identical. In addition to the (004) peak of germanium, we observe three additional weak peaks. The first one corresponds to the (002) germanium forbidden peak which probably comes from a small distortion of the germanium crystal, and the two other peaks are respectively attributed to the (002) and (004) Bragg peaks of a secondary phase. The $c$ lattice parameter of Ge$_3$Mn$_5$ hexagonal crystal is 5.053 \AA \ \cite{Fort90} which is in very good agreement with the values obtained from diffraction data for both (002) and (004) lines assuming that the $c$ axis of Ge$_3$Mn$_5$ is along the [001] direction of the Ge substrate.

\begin{figure}[htb]
    \center
	\includegraphics[width=.7\linewidth]{./fig6.eps}
	\caption{Cross section high resolution transmission electron micrograph of a sample grown at 170$^{\circ}$C. We observe the coexistence of two different Mn-rich phases: Ge$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$ nanocolumns and Ge$_3$Mn$_5$ clusters.}
\label{fig6}
\end{figure}

In summary, in a wide range of growth temperatures and Mn concentrations, we have evidenced a two-dimensional spinodal decomposition leading to the formation of Mn-rich nanocolumns in Ge$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$ films. This decomposition is probably the consequence of: $(i)$ a strong pair attraction between Mn atoms, $(ii)$ a strong surface diffusion of Mn atoms in germanium even at low growth temperatures and $(iii)$ layer by layer growth conditions. We have also investigated the influence of growth parameters on the spinodal decomposition: at low growth temperatures (100$^{\circ}$C), increasing the Mn content leads to higher columns densities while at higher growth temperatures (150$^{\circ}$C), the columns density remains nearly constant whereas their size increases drastically. By plotting the nanocolumns density as a function of Mn content, we have shown that the mechanism of Mn incorporation in Ge changes above 5 \% of Mn. Finally, using TEM observations and x-ray diffraction, we have shown that Ge$_3$Mn$_5$ nanoclusters start to form at growth temperatures higher than 160$^\circ$C.

\section{Magnetic properties \label{magnetic}}

We have thoroughly investigated the magnetic properties of thin Ge$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$ films for different growth temperatures and Mn concentrations. In this section, we focus on Mn concentrations between 2 \% and 11 \%. We could clearly identify four different magnetic phases in Ge$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$ films : diluted Mn atoms in the germanium matrix, low $T_{C}$ nanocolumns ($T_{C}$ $\leq$ 170 K), high $T_{C}$ nanocolumns ($T_{C}$ $\geq$ 400 K) and Ge$_{3}$Mn$_{5}$ clusters ($T_{C}$ $\thickapprox$ 300 K). The relative weight of each phase clearly depends on the growth temperature and to a lesser extend on Mn concentration. For low growth temperature ($<$ 120$^{\circ}$C), we show that nanocolumns are actually made of four uncorrelated superparamagnetic nanostructures. Increasing T$_{g}$ above 120$^{\circ}$C, we first obtain continuous columns exhibiting low $T_{C}$ ($<$ 170 K) and high $T_{C}$ ($>$ 400 K) for $T_{g}\approx$130$^{\circ}$C. The larger columns become ferromagnetic \textit{i.e.} $T_{B}>T_{C}$. Meanwhile Ge$_{3}$Mn$_{5}$ clusters start to form. Finally for higher $T_{g}$, the magnetic contribution from Ge$_{3}$Mn$_{5}$ clusters keeps increasing while the nanocolumns signal progressively disappears.

\begin{figure}[htb]
\center
   \includegraphics[width=.6\linewidth]{./fig7a.eps}
   \includegraphics[width=.3\linewidth]{./fig7b.eps}
\caption{(a) Temperature dependence of the saturation magnetization (in $\mu_{B}$/Mn) of Ge$_{0.93}$Mn$_{0.07}$ samples for different growth temperatures. The magnetic field is applied in the film plane. The inset shows the temperature dependence of a sample grown at 130$^{\circ}$C and annealed at 650$^{\circ}$C for 15 minutes. After annealing, the magnetic signal mostly arises from Ge$_{3}$Mn$_{5}$ clusters. (b) ZFC-FC measurements performed on Ge$_{0.93}$Mn$_{0.07}$ samples for different growth temperatures. The in-plane applied field is 0.015 T. The ZFC peak at low temperature ($\leq$150 K) can be attributed to the superparamagnetic nanocolumns. This peak widens and shifts towards high blocking temperatures when increasing growth temperature. The second peak above 150 K in the ZFC curve which increases with increasing growth temperature is attributed to superparamagnetic Ge$_{3}$Mn$_{5}$ clusters. The increasing ZFC-FC irreversibility at $\approx$ 300 K is due to the increasing contribution from large ferromagnetic Ge$_{3}$Mn$_{5}$ clusters. The nanocolumns signal completely vanishes after annealing at 650$^{\circ}$C for 15 minutes.}
\label{fig7}
\end{figure}

In Fig. 7a, the saturation magnetization at 2 Tesla in $\mu_{B}$/Mn of Ge$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$ films with 7 \% of Mn is plotted as a function of temperature for different growth temperatures ranging from $T_{g}$=90$^{\circ}$C up to 160$^{\circ}$C. The inset shows the temperature dependence of the magnetization at 2 Tesla after annealing at 650$^{\circ}$C during 15 minutes. Figure 7b displays the corresponding Zero Field Cooled - Field Cooled (ZFC-FC) curves recorded at 0.015 Tesla. In the ZFC-FC procedure, the sample is first cooled down to 5 K in zero magnetic field and the susceptibility is subsequently recorded at 0.015 Tesla while increasing the temperature up to 400 K (ZFC curve). Then, the susceptibility is recorded under the same magnetic field while decreasing the temperature down to 5 K (FC curve). Three different regimes can be clearly distinguished. \\
For $T_{g}\leq$120$^{\circ}$C, the temperature dependence of the saturation magnetization remains nearly the same while increasing growth temperature. The overall magnetic signal vanishing above 200 K is attributed to the nanocolumns whereas the increasing signal below 50 K originates from diluted Mn atoms in the surrounding matrix. The Mn concentration dependence of the saturation magnetization is displayed in figure 8. For the lowest Mn concentration (4 \%), the contribution from diluted Mn atoms is very high and drops sharply for higher Mn concentrations (7 \%, 9 \% and 11.3 \%). Therefore the fraction of Mn atoms in the diluted matrix decreases with Mn concentration probably because Mn atoms are more and more incorporated in the nanocolumns. In parallel, the Curie temperature of nanocolumns increases with the Mn concentration reaching 170 K for 11.3 \% of Mn. This behavior may be related to different Mn compositions and to the increasing diameter of nanocolumns (from 1.8 nm to 2.8 nm) as discussed in section \ref{structural}.

\begin{figure}[htb]
\center
   \includegraphics[width=.7\linewidth]{./fig8.eps}
    \caption{Temperature dependence of the saturation magnetization (in $\mu_{B}$/Mn) of Ge$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$ films grown at 100$^{\circ}$C plotted for different Mn concentrations: 4.1 \%; 7 \%; 8.9 \% and 11.3 \%.}
\label{fig8}
\end{figure}

ZFC-FC measurements show that the nanocolumns are superparamagnetic. The magnetic signal from the diluted Mn atoms in the matrix is too weak to be detected in susceptibility measurements at low temperature. In samples containing 4 \% of Mn, ZFC and FC curves superimpose down to low temperatures. As we do not observe hysteresis loops at low temperature, we believe that at this Mn concentration nanocolumns are  superparamagnetic in the whole temperature range and the blocking temperature cannot be measured. For higher Mn contents, the ZFC curve exhibits a very narrow peak with a maximum at the blocking temperature of 15 K whatever the Mn concentration and growth temperature (see Fig. 7b). Therefore the anisotropy barrier distribution is narrow and assuming that nanocolumns have the same magnetic anisotropy, this is a consequence of the very narrow size distribution of the nanocolumns as observed by TEM. To probe the anisotropy barrier distribution, we have performed ZFC-FC measurements but instead of warming the sample up to 400 K, we stopped at a lower temperature $T_{0}$.

\begin{figure}[htb]
\center
   \includegraphics[width=.6\linewidth]{./fig9.eps}
\caption{Schematic drawing of the anisotropy barrier distribution n($E_{B}$) of superparamagnetic nanostructures. If magnetic anisotropy does not depend on the particle size, this distribution exactly reflects their magnetic size distribution. In this drawing the blocking temperature ($T_{B}$) corresponds to the distribution maximum. At a given temperature $T_{0}$ such that 25$k_{B}T_{0}$ falls into the anisotropy barrier distribution, the largest nanostructures with an anisotropy energy larger than 25$k_{B}T_{0}$ are blocked whereas the others are superparamagnetic.}
\label{fig9}
\end{figure}

If this temperature falls into the anisotropy barrier distribution as depicted in Fig. 9, the FC curve deviates from the ZFC curve. Indeed the smallest nanostructures have become superparamagnetic at $T_{0}$ and when decreasing again the temperature, their magnetization freezes along a direction close to the magnetic field and the FC susceptibility is higher than the ZFC susceptibility. Therefore any irreversibility in this procedure points at the presence of superparamagnetic nanostructures. The results are given in Fig. 10a. ZFC and FC curves clearly superimpose up to $T_{0}$=250 K thus the nanocolumns are superparamagnetic up to their Curie temperature and no Ge$_{3}$Mn$_{5}$ clusters could be detected. Moreover for low $T_{0}$ values, a peak appears at low temperature in FC curves which evidences strong antiferromagnetic interactions between the nanocolumns \cite{Chan00}.

\begin{figure}[htb]
\center
    \includegraphics[width=.35\linewidth]{./fig10a.eps}
    \includegraphics[width=.63\linewidth]{./fig10b.eps}
\caption{(a) ZFC-FC measurements performed on a Ge$_{0.887}$Mn$_{0.113}$ sample grown at 115$^{\circ}$C. The in-plane applied field is 0.015 T. Magnetization was recorded up to different T$_{0}$ temperatures: 30 K, 50 K, 100 K, 150 K, 200 K and 250 K. Curves are shifted up for more clarity. (b) ZFC-FC curves for in-plane and out-of-plane applied fields (0.015 T).}
\label{fig10}
\end{figure}

In order to derive the magnetic size and anisotropy of the Mn-rich nanocolumns embedded in the Ge matrix, we have fitted the inverse normalized in-plane (resp. out-of-plane) susceptibility: $\chi_{\parallel}^{-1}$ (resp. $\chi_{\perp}^{-1}$). The corresponding experimental ZFC-FC curves are reported in Fig. 10b. Since susceptibility measurements are performed at low field (0.015 T), the matrix magnetic signal remains negligible. In order to normalize susceptibility data, we need to divide the magnetic moment by the saturated magnetic moment recorded at 5 T. However the matrix magnetic signal becomes very strong at 5 T and low temperature so that we need to subtract it from the saturated magnetic moment using a simple Curie function. From Fig. 10b, we can conclude that nanocolumns are isotropic. Therefore to fit experimental data we use the following expression well suited for isotropic systems or cubic anisotropy: $\chi_{\parallel}^{-1}= \chi_{\perp}^{-1}\approx 3k_{B}T/M(T)+\mu_{0}H_{eff}(T)$. $k_{B}$ is the Boltzmann constant, $M=M_{s}v$ is the magnetic moment of a single-domain nanostructure (macrospin approximation) where $M_{s}$ is its magnetization and $v$ its volume. The in-plane magnetic field is applied along $[110]$ or $[-110]$ crystal axes. Since the nanostructures Curie temperature does not exceed 170 K, the temperature dependence of the saturation magnetization is also accounted for by writting $M(T)$. Antiferromagnetic interactions between nanostructures are also considered by adding an effective field estimated in the mean field approximation \cite{Fruc02}: $\mu_{0}H_{eff}(T)$.
The only fitting parameters are the maximum magnetic moment (\textit{i.e.} at low temperature) per nanostructure: $M$ (in Bohr magnetons $\mu_{B}$) and the maximum interaction field (\textit{i.e.} at low temperature): $\mu_{0}H_{eff}$.

\begin{figure}[htb]
\center
   \includegraphics[width=.7\linewidth]{./fig11.eps}
\caption{Temperature dependence of the inverse in-plane (open circles) and out-of-plane (open squares) normalized susceptibilities of a Ge$_{0.887}$Mn$_{0.113}$ sample grown at 115$^{\circ}$C. Fits were performed assuming isotropic nanostructures or cubic anisotropy. Dashed line is for in-plane susceptibility and solid line for out-of-plane susceptibility.}
\label{fig11}
\end{figure}

In Fig. 11, the best fits lead to $M\approx$1250 $\mu_{B}$ and $\mu_{0}H_{eff}\approx$102 mT for in-plane susceptibility and $M\approx$1600 $\mu_{B}$ and $\mu_{0}H_{eff}\approx$98 mT for out-of-plane susceptibility. It gives an average magnetic moment of 1425 $\mu_{B}$ per column and an effective interaction field of 100 mT. Using this magnetic moment and its temperature dependence, magnetization curves could be fitted using a Langevin function and $M(H/T)$ curves superimpose for $T<$100 K. However, from the saturated magnetic moment of the columns and their density (35000 $\rm{\mu m}^{-2}$), we find almost 6000 $\mu_{B}$ per column. Therefore, for low growth temperatures, we need to assume that nanocolumns are actually made of almost four independent elongated magnetic nanostructures. The effective field for antiferromagnetic interactions between nanostructures estimated from the susceptibility fits is at least one order of magnitude larger than what is expected from pure magnetostatic coupling. This difference may be due to either an additional antiferromagnetic coupling through the matrix which origin remains unexplained or to the mean field approximation which is no more valid in this strong coupling regime. As for magnetic anisotropy, the nanostructures behave as isotropic magnetic systems or exhibit a cubic magnetic anisotropy. First we can confirm that nanostructures are not amorphous otherwise shape anisotropy would dominate leading to out-of-plane anisotropy. We can also rule out a random distribution of magnetic easy axes since the nanostructures are clearly crystallized in the diamond structure and would exhibit at least a cubic anisotropy (except if the random distribution of Mn atoms within the nanostructures can yield random easy axes). Since the nanostructures are in strong in-plane compression (their lattice parameter is larger than the matrix one), the cubic symmetry of the diamond structure is broken and magnetic cubic anisotropy is thus unlikely. We rather believe that out-of-plane shape anisotropy is nearly compensated by in-plane magnetoelastic anisotropy due to compression leading to a \textit{pseudo} cubic anisotropy. From the blocking temperature (15 K) and the magnetic volume of the nanostructures , we can derive their magnetic anisotropy constant using $Kv=25k_{B}T_{B}$: K$\approx$10 kJ.m$^{-3}$ which is of the same order of magnitude as shape anisotropy.

\begin{figure}[htb]
\center
    \includegraphics[width=.35\linewidth]{./fig12a.eps}
    \includegraphics[width=.63\linewidth]{./fig12b.eps}
\caption{(a) ZFC-FC measurements performed on a Ge$_{0.93}$Mn$_{0.07}$ sample grown at 122$^{\circ}$C. The in-plane applied field is 0.015 T. Magnetization was recorded up to different T$_{0}$ temperatures: 50 K, 100 K, 150 K, 200 K and 250 K. Curves are shifted up for more clarity. (b) ZFC-FC curves for in-plane and out-of-plane applied fields  (0.015 T).}
\label{fig12}
\end{figure}

For growth temperatures $T_{g}\geq$120$^{\circ}$C and Mn concentrations $\geq$ 7 \%, samples exhibit a magnetic signal above 200 K corresponding to Ge$_{3}$Mn$_{5}$ clusters (see Fig. 7a). As we can see, SQUID measurements are much more sensitive to the presence of Ge$_{3}$Mn$_{5}$ clusters, even at low concentration, than TEM and x-ray diffraction used in section \ref{structural}. We also observe a sharp transition in the ZFC curve (see Fig. 7b, Fig. 12a and 12b): the peak becomes very large and is shifted towards high blocking temperatures (the signal is maximum at $T=$23 K). This can be easily understood as a magnetic percolation of the four independent nanostructures obtained at low growth temperatures into a single magnetic nanocolumn. Therefore the magnetic volume increases sharply as well as blocking temperatures. At the same time, the size distribution widens as observed in TEM. In Fig. 12a, we have performed ZFC-FC measurements at different $T_{0}$ temperatures. The ZFC-FC irreversibility is observed up to the Curie temperature of $\approx$120 K meaning that a fraction of nanocolumns is ferromagnetic (\textit{i.e.} $T_{B}\geq T_{C}$).
In Fig. 12b, in-plane and out-of-plane ZFC curves nearly superimpose for $T\leq$150 K due to the isotropic magnetic behavior of the nanocolumns: in-plane magnetoelastic anisotropy is still compensating out-of-plane shape anisotropy. Moreover the magnetic signal above 150 K corresponding to Ge$_{3}$Mn$_{5}$ clusters that start to form in this growth temperature range is strongly anisotropic. This perpendicular anisotropy confirms the epitaxial relation: (0002) Ge$_{3}$Mn$_{5}$ $\parallel$ (002) Ge discussed in Ref.\cite{Bihl06}. The magnetic easy axis of the clusters lies along the hexagonal $c$-axis which is perpendicular to the film plane.

\begin{figure}[ht]
\center
   \includegraphics[width=.35\linewidth]{./fig13a.eps}
   \includegraphics[width=.63\linewidth]{./fig13b.eps}
\caption{(a) ZFC-FC measurements performed on a Ge$_{0.887}$Mn$_{0.113}$ sample grown at 145$^{\circ}$C. The in-plane applied field is 0.015 T. Magnetization was recorded up to different T$_{0}$ temperatures: 50 K, 100 K, 150 K, 200 K, 250 K and 300 K. Curves are shifted up for more clarity. (b) ZFC-FC curves for in-plane and out-of-plane applied fields (0.015 T).}
\label{fig13}
\end{figure}

For growth temperatures $T_{g}\geq$145$^{\circ}$C the cluster magnetic signal dominates (Fig. 13b). Superparamagnetic nanostructures are investigated performing ZFC-FC measurements at different $T_{0}$ temperatures (Fig. 13a). The first ZFC peak at low temperature \textit{i.e.} $\leq$ 150 K is attributed to  low-$T_{C}$ nanocolumns ($T_{C}\approx$130 K). This peak is wider than for lower growth temperatures and its maximum is further shifted up to 30 K. These results are in agreement with TEM observations: increasing $T_{g}$ leads to larger nanocolumns (\textit{i.e.} higher blocking temperatures) and wider size distributions. ZFC-FC irreversibility is observed up to the Curie temperature due to the presence of ferromagnetic columns. The second peak above 180 K in the ZFC curve is attributed to Ge$_{3}$Mn$_{5}$ clusters and the corresponding ZFC-FC irreversibility persisting up to 300 K means that some clusters are ferromagnetic. We clearly evidence the out-of-plane anisotropy of Ge$_{3}$Mn$_{5}$ clusters and the isotropic magnetic behavior of nanocolumns (Fig. 13b). In this growth temperature range, we have also investigated the Mn concentration dependence of magnetic properties.

\begin{figure}[ht]
\center
    \includegraphics[width=.49\linewidth]{./fig14a.eps}
    \includegraphics[width=.49\linewidth]{./fig14b.eps}
\caption{Temperature dependence of the saturation magnetization (in $\mu_{B}$/Mn) of Ge$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$ films grown at 150$^{\circ}$C plotted for different Mn concentrations: 2.3 \%; 4 \%; 7 \%; 9 \%; 11.3 \%. (b) ZFC-FC measurements performed on Ge$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$ films grown at 150$^{\circ}$C. The in-plane applied field is 0.025 T for 2.3 \% and 4 \% and 0.015 T for 8 \% and 11.3 \%. }
\label{fig14}
\end{figure}

In Fig. 14a, for low Mn concentrations (2.3 \% and 4 \%) the contribution from diluted Mn atoms in the germanium matrix to the saturation magnetization is very high and nearly vanishes for higher Mn concentrations (7 \%, 9 \% and 13 \%) as observed for low growth temperatures. Above 7 \%, the magnetic signal mainly comes from nanocolumns and Ge$_{3}$Mn$_{5}$ clusters. We can derive more information from ZFC-FC measurements (Fig. 14b). Indeed, for 2.3 \% of Mn, ZFC and FC curves nearly superimpose down to low temperature meaning that nanocolumns are superparamagnetic in the whole temperature range. Moreover the weak irreversibility arising at 300 K  means that some Ge$_{3}$Mn$_{5}$ clusters have already formed in the samples even at very low Mn concentrations. For 4 \% of Mn, we can observe a peak with a maximum at the blocking temperature (12 K) in the ZFC curve. We can also derive the Curie temperature of nanocolumns: $\approx$45 K. The irresversibility arising at 300 K still comes from Ge$_{3}$Mn$_{5}$ clusters. Increasing the Mn concentration above 7 \% leads to: higher blocking temperatures (20 K and 30 K) due to larger nanocolumns and wider ZFC peaks due to wider size distributions in agreement with TEM observations (see Fig. 3a). Curie temperatures also increase (110 K and 130 K) as well as the contribution from Ge$_{3}$Mn$_{5}$ clusters.\\
Finally when increasing $T_{g}$ above 160$^{\circ}$C, the nanocolumns magnetic signal vanishes and only Ge$_{3}$Mn$_{5}$ clusters and diluted Mn atoms coexist. The overall magnetic signal becomes comparable to the one measured on annealed samples in which only Ge$_{3}$Mn$_{5}$ clusters are observed by TEM (see Fig. 7a).\\
The magnetic properties of high-$T_{C}$ nanocolumns obtained for $T_{g}$ close to 130$^{\circ}$C are discussed in detail in Ref.\cite{Jame06}.\\
In conclusion, at low growth temperatures ($T_{g}\leq$120$^{\circ}$C), nanocolumns are made of almost 4 independent elongated magnetic nanostructures. For $T_{g}\geq$120$^{\circ}$C, these independent nanostructures percolate into a single nanocolumn sharply leading to higher blocking temperatures. Increasing $T_{g}$ leads to larger columns with a wider size distribution as evidenced by ZFC-FC measurements and given by TEM observations. In parallel, some Ge$_{3}$Mn$_{5}$ clusters start to form and their contribution increases when increasing $T_{g}$. Results on magnetic anisotropy seems counter-intuitive. Indeed Ge$_{3}$Mn$_{5}$ clusters exhibit strong out-of-plane anisotropy whereas nanocolumns which are highly elongated magnetic structures are almost isotropic. This effect is probably due to compensating in-plane magnetoelastic coupling (due to the columns compression) and out-of-plane shape anisotropy.

\section{Conclusion}

In this paper, we have investigated the structural and magnetic properties of thin Ge$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$ films grown by low temperature molecular beam epitaxy. A wide range of growth temperatures and Mn concentrations have been explored. All the samples contain Mn-rich nanocolumns as a consequence of 2D-spinodal decomposition. However their size, crystalline structure and magnetic properties depend on growth temperature and Mn concentration. For low growth temperatures, nanocolumns are very small (their diameter ranges between 1.8 nm for 1.3 \% of Mn and 2.8 nm for 11.3 \% of Mn), their Curie temperature is rather low ($<$ 170 K) and they behave as almost four uncorrelated superparamagnetic nanostructures. Increasing Mn concentration leads to higher columns densities while diameters remain nearly unchanged. For higher growth temperatures, the nanocolumns mean diameter increases and their size distribution widens. Moreover the 4 independent magnetic nanostructures percolate into a single magnetic nanocolumn. Some columns are ferromagnetic even if Curie temperatures remain quite low. In this regime, increasing Mn concentration leads to larger columns while their density remains nearly the same. In parallel, Ge$_{3}$Mn$_{5}$ nanoclusters start to form in the film with their $c$-axis perpendicular to the film plane. In both temperature regimes, the Mn incorporation mechanism in the nanocolumns and/or in the matrix changes above 5 \% of Mn and nanocolumns exhibit an isotropic magnetic behaviour due to the competing effects of out-of-plane shape anisotropy and in-plane magnetoelastic coupling. Finally for a narrow range of growth temperatures around 130$^{\circ}$C, nanocolumns exhibit Curie temperatures higher than 400 K. Our goal is now to investigate the crystalline structure inside the nanocolumns, in particular the position of Mn atoms in the distorted diamond structure, which is essential to understand magnetic and future transport properties in Ge$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$ films.

\section{Aknowledgements}
The authors would like to thank Dr. F. Rieutord for grazing incidence x-ray diffraction measurements performed on the GMT station of BM32 beamline at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility.

Answer: Spin injection into non magnetic semiconductors, or electrical manipulation of carrier induced magnetism in magnetic semiconductors.


Input: What is the average magnetic moment per column in Ge$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$ films?

Answer: 1425 $\mu_{B}$.