Electronic structure origins of polarity-dependent high-TC ferromagnetism in oxide-diluted magnetic semiconductors.
Future spintronics technologies based on diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMSs) will rely heavily on a sound understanding of the microscopic origins of ferromagnetism in such materials. Discoveries of room-temperature ferromagnetism in wide-bandgap DMSs hold great promise, but this ferromagnetism remains poorly understood. Here we demonstrate a close link between the electronic structures and polarity-dependent high-TC ferromagnetism of TM(2+):ZnO DMSs, where TM(2+) denotes 3d transition metal ions. Trends in ferromagnetism across the 3d series of TM(2+):ZnO DMSs predicted from the energies of donor- and acceptor-type excited states reproduce experimental trends well. These results provide a unified basis for understanding both n- and p-type ferromagnetic oxide DMSs.
Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-1700, USA.
Kevin R
KR
Kittilstved
William K
WK
Liu
Daniel R
DR
Gamelin
D004581:Electronics; D004583:Electrons; D007501:Iron; D008027:Light; D008280:Magnetics; D015225:Magnetoencephalography; D008422:Materials Testing; D008956:Models, Chemical; D036103:Nanotechnology; D010087:Oxides / Q000737:chemistry; D012666:Semiconductors; D013053:Spectrophotometry; D013054:Spectrophotometry, Atomic; D013696:Temperature; D015034:Zinc Oxide / Q000737:chemistry
D010087:Oxides; D007501:Iron; D015034:Zinc Oxide