title: Strain induced half-metal to semiconductor transition in GdN.
abstract: We investigate the electronic structure and magnetic properties of GdN as a function of unit cell volume. Based on the first-principles calculations of GdN, we observe that there is a transformation in the conduction properties associated with the volume increase: first from half-metallic to semimetallic, then ultimately to semiconducting. We show that applying stress can alter the carrier concentration as well as mobility of the holes and electrons in the majority spin channel. In addition, we found that the exchange parameters depend strongly on lattice constant, thus the Curie temperature of this system can be enhanced by applying stress or doping impurities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Nebraska, Omaha, Nebraska 68182-0266, USA. dcg@cosmos.unomaha.edu
authors.forename: Chun-gang
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.forename: R F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Sabiryanov
authors.forename: Jianjun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: W N
authors.initials: WN
authors.lastname: Mei
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Dowben
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Hardy