The role of Co impurities and oxygen vacancies in the ferromagnetism of Co-doped SnO2: GGA and GGA+U studies

The electronic structure and ferromagnetic stability of Co-doped SnO₂ are studied using the first-principle density functional method within the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) and GGA+U schemes. The addition of effective U_Co transforms the ground state of Co-doped SnO₂ to insulating from half-metallic and the coupling between the nearest neighbor Co spins to weak antimagnetic from strong ferromagnetic. GGA+U_Co calculations show that the pure substitutional Co defects in SnO₂ cannot induce the ferromagnetism. Oxygen vacancies tend to locate near Co atoms. Their presence increases the magnetic moment of Co and induces the ferromagnetic coupling between two Co spins with large Co-Co distance. The calculated density of state and spin density distribution calculated by GGA+U_Co show that the long-range ferromagnetic coupling between two Co spins is mediated by spin-split impurity band induced by oxygen vacancies. More charge transfer from impurity to Co-3d states and larger spin split of Co-3d and impurity states induced by the addition of U_Co enhance the ferromagnetic stability of the system with oxygen vacancies. By applying a Coulomb U_O on O 2 s orbital, the band gap is corrected for all calculations and the conclusions derived from GGA+U_Co calculations are not changed by the correction of band gap.     

二氧化铈基稀磁氧化物的第一性原理研究

基于第一性原理的计算方法研究了纯CeO_2、Co掺杂CeO_2和同时引入氧空位Vo和Co掺杂的CeO_2稀磁半导体体系.通过计算体系的能带结构和态密度,探讨了该体系磁性产生的机制.计算发现,纯CeO_2体系不具有磁性;没有氧空位Vo的Co掺杂CeO_2体系中,Co离子之间通过O原子发生超交换反铁磁耦合,体系无铁磁性;当氧空位Vo和Co离子同时存在于CeO_2体系中时,Co离子之间通过氧空位Vo发生铁磁耦合,该体系表现出铁磁性能.另外,由氧空位Vo诱导的Co离子之间的铁磁耦合不仅发生在紧邻的两个Co离子,而且可以扩展到几个原子距离的长度.计算结果证明了氧空位Vo诱导铁磁性耦合机制.本文工作将为CeO_2基稀磁半导体体系制备与磁学性质的研究提供支持.     

Effects of copper and oxygen vacancies on the ferromagnetism of Mn- and Co-doped Cu2O

The ferromagnetic properties of Mn- and Co-doped Cu₂O with copper and oxygen vacancies (V_Cu and V_O) are studied by first-principles calculations. The results indicate that Mn-doped Cu₂O has an antiferromagnetic state in the near configuration, while it has a ferromagnetic state for the far configuration. On the contrary, Co-doped Cu₂O possess a ferromagnetic state regardless of the distance between the two Co atoms. The observed ferromagnetism can be attributed to the 90° ferromagnetic super-exchange mechanism. The presence of V_O can enhance the ferromagnetism, whereas V_Cudepresses it.     

Effect of oxygen vacancy defect on the magnetic properties of Co-doped ZnO

The influence of oxygen vacancy on the magnetism of Co-doped ZnO has been investigated by the first-principles calculations.It is suggested that oxygen vacancy and its location play crucial roles on the magnetic properties of Co-doped ZnO.The exchange coupling mechanism should account for the magnetism in Co-doped ZnO with oxygen vacancy and the oxygen vacancy is likely to be close to the Co atom.The oxygen vacancy (doping electrons) might be available for carrier mediation but is localized with a certain length and can strengthen the ferromagnetic exchange interaction between Co atoms.     

Ferromagnetism induced by intrinsic defects and nitrogen substitution in SnO2 nanotube

The possibilities of magnetism induced by intrinsic defects and nitrogen substitution in (5,5) single-wall SnO₂ nanotube are investigated by ab initio calculations. The calculated results indicate that a stoichiometric SnO₂ nanotube is nonmagnetic. The tin (Sn) vacancy can induce the magnetic moments rather than oxygen vacancy, which is originated from the polarization of O 2p electrons. A couple of tin vacancies can lead to the ferromagnetic coupling. A nitrogen substitution for oxygen also produces magnetic moments. When substituting two nitrogen atoms, the characteristics of exchange coupling depend upon the distance of two nitrogen atoms. The longer distance of two nitrogen atoms prefers the ferromagnetic coupling, whereas the short distance leads to the antiferromagnetic coupling.     

Magnetic properties of Co-doped SnO2 at different carrier concentrations

Magnetic properties of Co-doped wide-gap semiconductor SnO₂ were studied theoretically by using the PPLCAO first-principles computational scheme. Since the carrier plays an important role on magnetic properties about diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMS) materials, we discuss the origin of magnetic moments and the magnetic ordering mechanism with different carrier concentration in Co-doped SnO₂ based on calculated spin density distribution. It is found that, the RKKY interaction is dominated in the magnetic coupling in Co-doped SnO₂.     

The effect of surfactants on the magnetic and optical properties of Co-doped SnO2 nanoparticles

A series of Co-doped SnO₂ nanoparticles have been synthesized by the co-precipitation route. Different amounts of surfactant have been used in order to study the effect of surfactants (CTAB) on the magnetic and optical properties. Structural analyses reveal that Co dopants are substituted into rutile SnO₂ nanoparticles without forming any secondary phase. The increase of the surfactant promotes the adsorption of organic molecules on the surfaces of nanoparticles. Meanwhile, both the ferromagnetism and the orange emission drop progressively. The dependence of ferromagnetic properties on the surfactant concentration could be explained based on the bound magnetic polaron, where the carriers are provided by oxygen vacancies. XANES spectra reveal that the electrons transfer from Co 3d bands to the surfactant ions. Such electron-transfer process suppresses the formation of oxygen vacancies and leads to the decline of the ferromagnetism and optical emission.     

Monte Carlo simulations of donor band exchange in (Zn,Co)O

We present results of a Monte Carlo study over the ferromagnetism of Co-doped ZnO. The magnetic interaction has the form of the donor impurity band exchange model, where the Co magnetic moments are exchange coupled to band electrons. These are assumed to occupy large hydrogenic orbitals and originate from shallow intrinsic ZnO defects. A number of parameters of this model remain uncertain and here we investigate the dependence of the Curie temperature on the strength of the magnetic coupling. We find an unusual concave upward shape in the magnetization curves consistent with other Monte Carlo studies for dilute systems and we predict high temperature ferromagnetism for sufficiently strong coupling.     

Distribution and magnetization of Co near the rutile TiO2 (110) surface: A first-principles study

The room-temperature ferromagnetism demonstrated by Co-doped TiO₂ films remains a challenge to our understanding, notwithstanding intensive experimental and theoretical investigations. We have calculated the binding energy and spin-polarization of Co atoms doped in the rutile TiO₂ (110) surface using first-principles method, aiming to elucidate the relationship between structure and magnetism of Co-doped TiO₂ films. In a defect-free surface the binding energy of Co substituting for Ti reduces slightly with the depth into the surface, suggesting a very minor Co depletion near the surface. More interestingly, the stability of ferromagnetic coupling over anti-ferromagnetic coupling of Co atoms decreases rapidly when it goes from surface to the bulk region. The residual ferromagnetism in the surface will give rise to a non-vanishing average magnetic moment of the thin film. The calculated pairing energy of Co is 0.12 eV/Co in the surface layer and 0.20 eV/Co in the middle layer of the film, an indication that Co atoms have a tendency to aggregate in both regions and that pairing will not modify the Co concentration in the direction vertical to the surface.     

Structural and magnetic properties of Mn-doped ZnO powders

A mixture of bi(acetylacetonato) zinc(II)hydrate and tris(acetylacetonato) manganese(III) complexes was thermally co-dissociated to synthesize Mn-doped ZnO powders. In order to examine the effect of oxygen vacancies on the ferromagnetic coupling of Mn ions, two preparation routes were used: in route (I) the preparation was done in an open environment, whereas in route (II) the preparation was done in a closed environment. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and the X-ray fluorescence (XRF) measurements indicate that the Mn content in the three samples are 3.9% (I), 3.3% (II) and 4.2% (II). The XRD results showed that the Mn ions were incorporated in the ZnO crystal and that a Zn_1−xMn_xO solid solution has formed. The magnetic characterization indicated that only samples prepared via route (II) exhibited a room temperature ferromagnetic component of magnetization. Furthermore, magnetic analysis showed that the magnetic moment per dopant ion in the samples examined was in the range of 4.2-6.1 μ_B/Mn. The percentages of coupled Mn atoms to the total number of Mn atoms were found to be extremely small (less than 0.1%), which by itself cannot explain the observed RT hysteresis loops. Thus, in order to produce long-range ferromagnetic order in these samples, the FM coupling has to be mediated via defects. The observed FM in this study may be attributed to the presence of oxygen vacancies, which mediate the ferromagnetic exchange between the coupled Mn ions. This is consistent with the bound magnetic polarons (BMP) model where defects like oxygen vacancies cause the polarons to overlap and give rise to a long-range ferromagnetic order in dilute magnetic semiconductors (DMS).     

Nonmagnetic impurities induced magnetism in SnO2

A density functional study is performed to investigate the magnetism induced by the nonmagnetic impurity substitution for the cation in SnO₂. The calculated results show that the K impurity substitution leads to a robust magnetism in SnO₂, and the induced magnetic moments are mainly attributed to the first shell of oxygen atoms surrounding the impurity atom. Meanwhile, no magnetism is observed in SnO₂ doped with Ca which implies a decreasing tendency of induced magnetic moments for Sn substituted by vacancy, K, and Ca. It is also demonstrated that the magnetic coupling constant oscillates as a function of K-K separation distance, and the Curie temperature above room temperature can be obtained in K-doped SnO₂.     

Coexistence of paramagnetism and ferromagnetism in Fe-TiO2 nanoparticle

Magnetic properties of pure and Fe doped rutile TiO₂ and TiO_2-ε are investigated using the first principle density functional theory. The results show that the considered systems are ferromagnetic. Furthermore, the origin of ferromagnetism is discussed and it is found that the double exchange and super-exchange are the main interactions in these compounds. Based on the calculations, the magnitude of the magnetic moment depends on the concentration of impurities and oxygen vacancies and the largest magnetic moment corresponds to the Fe_xTi_1-xO_2-ε. Moreover, using a model based on the bound magnetic polarons, the coexistence of ferromagnetic and paramagnetic phases can occur in Fe_xTi_1-xO₂ containing different impurity ions such as Fe⁺² and Fe⁺³ with different Curie temperatures. The finding may presents the potential application of the considered system as diluted magnetic semiconductor.     

Antiferromagnetic spin correlations in palladium-based Pd-Fe, Pd-Fe-Ag, and Pd-Fe-Rh magnetic alloys

The magnetic structure of Pd_1?x Fe_x (x=0.03, 0.06, 0.10, 0.15, and 0.20) alloys is investigated using the method of ⁵⁷Fe-Mössbauer spectroscopy. The distribution functions P(B _hf) of hyperfine magnetic fields have a discrete structure defined by variations of the contribution to B _hf from the magnetic moment of the neighboring Fe atoms. The anomalies of intensities of components of the functions P(B _hf), which increase with the concentration of iron, are indicative of the instability of configurations with a large total spin and of the formation of local spin configurations with the antiferromagnetic orientation of magnetic moments. The probability of formation of such configurations is defined by the competition of the ferromagnetic Fe-Pd exchange interaction with the direct antiferromagnetic exchange between the nearest neighboring atoms of Fe. An Ag or Rh impurity effectively induces the process of spin flipping, which explains the anomalously strong effect of impurities on the magnetic ordering temperature. The results confirm the presence in Pd-Fe alloys of perturbations of long-range ferromagnetic order revealed by neutron diffraction.     

Induction of an atomically thin ferromagnetic semiconductor in 1T′ phase ReS2 by doping with transition metals

Two-dimensional 1T′ phase ReS₂, a transition metal dichalcogenide, has a unique structure and electronic properties that are independent of thickness. The pure phase is a nonmagnetic semiconductor. Using density functional theory calculations, we show that ReS₂ can be tuned to a magnetic semiconductor by doping with transition metal atoms. The magnetism mainly comes from the dopant transition metal and neighboring Re and S atoms as a result of competition between exchange splitting and crystal field splitting. ReS₂ doped with Co can be considered as a promising diluted magnetic semiconductor owing to its strong ferromagnetism with long-range ferromagnetic interaction, high Curie temperature (above room temperature) and good stability. These findings may stimulate experimental validation and facilitate the development of new atomically thin diluted magnetic semiconductors based on transition metal dichalcogenides.     

Coexistence of paramagnetism and ferromagnetism in Fe-TiO2 nanoparticle

Magnetic properties of pure and Fe doped rutile TiO₂ and TiO_2-ε are investigated using the first principle density functional theory. The results show that the considered systems are ferromagnetic. Furthermore, the origin of ferromagnetism is discussed and it is found that the double exchange and super-exchange are the main interactions in these compounds. Based on the calculations, the magnitude of the magnetic moment depends on the concentration of impurities and oxygen vacancies and the largest magnetic moment corresponds to the Fe_xTi_1?xO_2?ε. Moreover, using a model based on the bound magnetic polarons, the coexistence of ferromagnetic and paramagnetic phases can occur in Fe_xTi_1?xO₂ containing different impurity ions such as Fe⁺² and Fe⁺³ with different Curie temperatures. The finding may presents the potential application of the considered system as diluted magnetic semiconductor.     

H-impurity induced high-temperature ferromagnetism in Co-doped ZnO

Through first-principles total-energy calculations, the effect of H-impurity on the magnetic properties of Co-doped ZnO is studied. Instead of an antibonding location, a bond-centered location of Co-O is the most stable location for isolated H in Co-doped ZnO with a strong bond with oxygen which results in the Co neighbor displaced from the host site to form a Co dimer with the other Co. At the most stable position, due to the strong hybridization between the H-impurity states and the Co 3d-t_2g minority spin states at the Fermi level in the gap, H-impurity can mediate a strong short-ranged and long-ranged ferromagnetic spin-spin interaction between neighboring Co atoms. Results based on first-principles total-energy calculations show that H-impurity is a very effective agent that can make Co-doped ZnO process high-temperature ferromagnetism.     

Density functional theory description of the mechanism of ferromagnetism in nitrogen-doped SnO2

Based on first-principles calculations, we have studied the occurrence of spin polarization in the magnetic metal oxide SnO₂ doped with nonmagnetic nitrogen (N) impurities. It was found that the local magnetic moments are localized mainly on the N dopant, causing a total moment of 0.95μB per cell. The long-range magnetic coupling of N-doped SnO₂ may be attributed to a p-p coupling interaction between the N impurity and host valence states.     

Effects of temperature and atmosphere on the magnetic properties of Co-doped ZnO rods

Co-doped ZnO (Zn_0.95Co_0.05O) rods are fabricated by co-precipitation method at different temperatures and atmospheres. X-ray diffraction, Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and Raman results indicate that the samples were crystalline with wurtzite structure and no metallic Co or other secondary phases were found. Raman results indicate that the Co-doped ZnO powders annealed at different temperatures have different oxygen vacancy concentrations. The oxygen vacancies play an important role in the magnetic origin for diluted magnetic semiconductors. At low oxygen vacancy concentration, room temperature ferromagnetism is presented in Co-doped ZnO rods, and the ferromagnetism increases with the increment of oxygen vacancy concentration. But at very high oxygen vacancy concentration, large paramagnetic or antiferromagnetic effects are observed in Co-doped ZnO rods due to the ferromagnetic-antiferromagnetic competition. In addition, the sample annealed in Ar gas has better magnetic properties than that annealed in air, which indicates that O₂ plays an important role. Therefore, the ferromagnetism is affected by the amounts of structural defects, which depend sensitively on atmosphere and annealing temperature.     

氧空位对钴掺杂氧化锌半导体磁性能的影响

从实验和理论上阐述了氧空位对Co掺杂ZnO半导体磁性能的影响.采用磁控溅射法在不同的氧分压下制备了Zn_095Co_005O薄膜,研究了氧分压对薄膜磁性能的影响.实验结果表明,高真空条件下制备的Zn_095Co_005O薄膜具有室温铁磁性,提高氧分压后制备的薄膜铁磁性逐渐消失.第一性原理计算表明,在Co掺杂ZnO体系中引入氧空位有利于降低铁磁态的能量,铁磁态的稳定性与氧空位和Co之间的距离密切相关. 关键词： Co掺杂ZnO 稀磁半导体 第一性原理计算 氧空位缺陷     

First-principles study of ferromagnetism in Zn- and Cd-doped SnO2

The electronic structures and magnetic properties of Zn- and Cd-doped SnO₂ are investigated using first-principles calculations within the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) and GGA+U scheme. The substitutional Zn and Cd atoms introduce holes in the 2p orbitals of the O atoms and the introduced holes are mostly confined to the minority-spin states. The magnetic moment induced by doping mainly comes from the 2p orbitals of the O atoms, among which the moment of the first neighboring O atoms around the dopant are the biggest. The U correction for the anion-2p states obviously increases the moment of the first neighboring O atoms and transforms the ground states of the doped SnO₂ from half-metallic to insulating. The magnetic coupling between the moments induced by two dopants is ferromagnetic and the origin of ferromagnetic coupling can be attributed to the p–d hybridization interaction involving holes.