First-principle study on magnetic properties of Mn/Fe codoped ZnS

We studied the magnetic properties of Mn/Fe codoped ZnS comparatively with and without defects using first-principle calculation. The calculated results indicate that the Mn/Fe codoped ZnS system tends to stabilize in a ferrimagnetic (FiM) configuration. To obtain a ferromagnetic (FM) configuration, we consider the doped system with defects, such as S or Zn vacancy. The calculated results indicate that the doped system with Zn vacancy favors FiM states. Although the FM states of the doped system with S vacancy are more stable than the FiM states in negative charge states, the FM states are not stable enough to exist. Finally, we replaced an S atom by a C atom in the doped system. The C atom prefers to substitute the S atom connecting Mn and Fe atoms. The formation energy of this defect is −0.40 eV, showing that Mn/Fe/C codoped ZnS can be fabricated easily by experiments. Furthermore, the FM state was lower in energy than the FiM state by 114 meV. Such a large energy difference between the FM and FiM states implies that room temperature ferromagnetism could be expected in such a system.     

Cr掺杂ZnS纳米管结构和磁性质

采用第一性原理密度泛函理论系统研究Cr原子单掺杂和双掺杂单壁ZnS纳米管的结构和磁性质.研究发现掺杂纳米管的形成能比纯纳米管的形成能低,说明掺杂过程是放热的.单掺杂纳米管的总磁矩主要来自Cr原子3d态的贡献.结果表明Cr原子掺杂单壁ZnS纳米管趋向于铁磁态.但铁磁态和反铁磁态的能量差仅为0.036 eV.为获得室温铁磁性,我们用一个C原子替代掺杂体系中的一个S原子.计算发现铁磁态的能量比反铁磁态低0.497eV.表明此掺杂体系可能获得室温铁磁性.     

Mn/C共掺杂ZnS纳米管磁性质研究

采用第一性原理密度泛函理论系统地研究Mn原子单掺杂和双掺杂ZnS纳米管的结构、电子性质和磁性质.掺杂纳米管的形成能比纯纳米管形成能更低,表明掺杂是个放热过程.掺杂纳米管的能隙远小于纯纳米管能隙.计算结果表明Mn掺杂纳米管趋于反铁磁态.为了获得室温铁磁性,用一个C原子替代一个S原子.发现铁磁态能量比反铁磁态能量低0.454 eV.如此大的能量差表明这类材料中有可能获得室温铁磁性.     

Fe掺杂单壁ZnS纳米管磁性质

采用第一性原理密度泛函理论系统研究Fe原子掺杂单壁ZnS纳米管的结构和磁性质.首先比较掺杂纳米管的稳定性.结果表明,掺杂纳米管的形成能比纯纳米管的形成能低,说明掺杂过程是一个放热反应.单掺杂纳米管的总磁矩等于掺杂的磁性原子的磁矩,主要来自Fe原子3d态的贡献.Fe原子掺杂单壁ZnS纳米管趋向于反铁磁态.为了得到稳定的铁磁态,用一个C原子替代掺杂体系中的一个S原子.计算发现铁磁态的能量比亚铁磁态低0.164 eV的.在铁磁态和反铁磁态之间存在的巨大的能量差,表明此掺杂体系可能获得室温铁磁性.     

Structure, electronic and magnetic properties of Cr-doped (ZnS)12 clusters: A first-principles study

We have studied the structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of (ZnS)₁₂ clusters doped with one (monodoped) and two (bidoped) Cr atoms in terms of a first-principles method. Substitutional, exohedral, and endohedral doping are considered. The substitutional isomer is found to be most favorable in energy for monodoped clusters, while the exohedral isomers are found to be most favorable for bidoped clusters. The magnetic coupling between the Cr atoms is mainly governed by the competition between direct Cr-Cr antiferromagnetic (AFM) interaction and the ferromagnetic (FM) interaction between two Cr atoms via S atom due to strong p-d hybridization. Finally, we show that the exohedral bidoped (ZnS)₁₂ clusters favor the FM state, which has potential applications in nanoscale quantum devices.     

First principles study on magnetic properties in ZnS doped with palladium

The electronic structures and magnetic properties in zinc-blende structure ZnS doped with nonmagnetic noble metal palladium have been investigated by means of density functional theory (DFT) calculations employing the generalised gradient approximation (GGA) and the GGA plus Hubbard U (GGA + U). Both the GGA and GGA + U methods demonstrate half-metallicity in Pd-doped ZnS with total magnetic moments of about 2.0μ _B per supercell. The half-metallic ferromagnetism stems from the hybridisation between Pd-4d and S-3p states and could be attributed to a double-exchange mechanism. These results suggest a recipe for obtaining a promising dilute magnetic semiconductor by doping nonmagnetic 4d elements in ZnS matrix.     

Tunable surface and/or interface ferromagnetism of ZnO nanoparticles

The ZnO-based diluted magnetic semiconductor materials have been widely investigated since the room temperature ferromagnetism (FM) was predicted in the p$p$-type Mn doped ZnO. However, it is now clear that magnetic dopants or impurities are not necessary for introducing FM into ZnO. As confirmed by numerous theoretical and experimental works, tunable FM can be effectively introduced into ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) by controlling the surface and/or interface nanostructures. This review describes the recent advances in the surface and/or interface FM of ZnO NPs without any magnetic impurities. On the basis of the previous reports including our recent works, the origin of FM of ZnO NPs has been overviewed and discussed in terms of defects, complex reactions or compounds, and electron transfer at the NP surface or interface.     

Ferromagnetic properties of Cu-doped ZnS: A density functional theory study

Using plane-wave pseudopotential (PWPP) method, the magnetism and spin-resolved electronic properties of Cu-doped ZnS system are studied. Our calculations indicate that ferromagnetic (FM) state is ground state in Cu-doped ZnS. The FM coupling strength in ZnS doping with Cu fluctuates with the variation of distance between two dopants and the fluctuation gets larger with increase in distance. Room temperature ferromagnetism can be observed in Cu-doped ZnS with high dopant concentration. Formation energy calculation implies that the clustering effect is not obvious in Cu-doped ZnS. Thus, Cu-doped ZnS can be a promising dilute magnetic semiconductor (DMS), which promises to be free of magnetic precipitates.     

A CASTEP study on magnetic properties of C-doped ZnO crystal

The CASTEP calculations based on the density function theory (DFT) have been carried out in studying magnetic properties of C-doped ZnO crystal. The long-range ferromagnetism (FM) can be attributed to coupling between C energy levels. We also investigate effects of oxygen vacancies and nitrogen impurities on FM properties. It is obvious that oxygen vacancies are unfavorable to stabilize the FM. However, nitrogen impurities can enhance FM coupling, which indicates that hole-carriers play a crucial role in the observed FM behavior. In addition, we also analyze strain effect on FM of C-doped ZnO.     

Room temperature ferromagnetism in Cu–Gd co-doped GaN nanowires: A first-principles study

The electronic structure and room temperature ferromagnetism of wurtzite Cu–Gd co-doped GaN nanowires have been investigated by means of the first-principles calculations within the density functional theory, including the on-site Coulomb energy U. The magnetic coupling between Gd atoms in the Gd-doped GaN nanowire is paramagnetic instead of ferromagnetic (FM) as in the bulk structure. After replacing Ga with Cu atom we find a stable FM coupling between Gd magnetic moments in this p-type system. p–d coupling between Cu-3d and N-2p states pushes N-2p states up to Fermi level due to the existence of hole states introduced by Cu dopants. While the p–d coupling between host N-2p and Gd-5d states near Fermi level stabilizes a FM phase of Gd magnetic moments. Furthermore, we get a FM state above room temperature by increasing the holes concentration.     

The electronic and magnetic properties of （Mn,C）-codoped ZnO diluted magnetic semiconductor

The electronic and magnetic properties of (Mn,C)-codoped ZnO are studied in the Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof form of generalized gradient approximation of the density functional theory. By investigating five geometrical configurations, we find that Mn doped ZnO exhibits anti-ferromagnetic or spin-glass behaviour, and there are no carriers to mediate the long range ferromagnetic (FM) interaction without acceptor co-doping. We observe that the FM interaction for (Mn,C)-codoped ZnO is due to the hybridization between C 2p and Mn 3d states, which is strong enough to lead to hole-mediated ferromagnetism at room temperature. Meanwhile, we demonstrate that ZnO co-doped with Mn and C has a stable FM ground state and show that the (Mn,C)-codoped ZnO is FM semiconductor with super-high Curie temperature (T C = 5475 K). These results are conducive to the design of dilute magnetic semiconductors with codopants for spintronics applications.     

A study on the magnetic properties of carbon-doped (1 1 2? 0) ZnO thin films

By using the first principle method based on density functional theory (DFT), a study on the electronic structure and the ferromagnetic stability in C-doped (1 1 2¯ 0) ZnO thin films was conducted. It was found that the thin films have a FM ground state for a majority of configurations. It was also found that C atoms in the thin films have a clear clustering tendency. The ferromagnetism (FM) can be attributed to the coupling between C energy levels. The results showed that oxygen vacancies cannot stabilize the FM coupling of C-doped ZnO thin films. However, zinc vacancies can stabilize the FM coupling of the thin films, which indicates that hole-carriers play a crucial role in the observed FM behavior. In addition, the strain effect on the FM of C-doped ZnO thin films was also analyzed.     

Ferromagnetism in carbon-doped ZnO films from first-principle study

First-principle calculations based on density functional theory have been performed on the nonmagnetic 2p light element C-doped ZnO thin films. The total energies and magnetism of the system are calculated with a ten-layer slab along () direction. The results show that the C-doped ZnO thin films are ferromagnetic. A single C is preferable to occupy the subsurface site. As the concentration of C atoms increases, the ferromagnetic coupling among the dopants is more favorable, and they tend to form a cluster around the Zn atom at the film surface. The ferromagnetism is predicted to be mainly from a p-d exchange-like p-p coupling interaction and a p-d exchange hybridization. The p-p coupling interaction is the dominative mechanism.     

Effect of impurity concentration on optical and magnetic properties in ZnS:Cu nanoparticles

To obtain enhanced room temperature ferromagnetism (RTFM) along with the increase in optical bandgap in the compound semiconductors has been an interesting topic. Here, we report RTFM along with increase in energy bandgap in chemically synthesized Zn_1−xCu_xS (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.04) DMS nanoparticles. Structural properties of the synthesized samples studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) show the formation of cubic phase Cu doped ZnS nanoparticles of ~3–5 nm size. An intrinsic weak ferromagnetic behavior was observed in pure ZnS sample (at 300 K) which got increased in Cu doped samples and was understood due to defect induced ferromagnetism. UV–vis measurement showed increase in the energy bandgap with the increase in Cu doping. The PL study suggested the presence of sulfur and zinc vacancies and surface defects which were understood contributing to the intrinsic FM behavior.     

First-principles study of B,C, N and F doped graphene-like MgO monolayer

Based on the first-principles calculations, we have investigated the stable geometries, electronic and magnetic properties of the graphene-like MgO monolayer with O atom substituted by B, C, N, and F atoms. The formation energy decreases in the order of B>C>N>F, which may be influenced by the different electronegativities. The band gaps of p-type doped MgO monolayers are tunable due to the emergence of impurity states within the band gap, while F-doped MgO monolayer realizes the transition from semiconductor to metal. The results show that p-type doped MgO monolayer exhibit magnetic behaviors due to polarizations of dopants and surrounding Mg or O atoms near the dopants, while no magnetism is observed in the case of F doped MgO monolayer. These results are potentially useful for spintronic applications and the development of magnetic nanostructures.     

Theoretical study of the magnetic interaction of Cr-doped ZnO with and without vacancies

First-principles density-functional theory (DFT) calculations have been performed to study the magnetic properties of ZnO:Cr with and without vacancies. The results indicate that the doping of Cr in ZnO induces obvious spin polarization around the Fermi level and a total magnetic moment of 3.77μ_B. The ferromagnetism (FM) exchange interaction between Cr atoms is short-ranged and decreases with increasing Cr separation distance. It is suggested that the FM state is not stable with low concentration of Cr. The presence of O vacancies can make the half-metallic FM state of the system more stable, so that higher Curie temperature ferromagnetism may be expected. Nevertheless, Zn vacancies can result in the FM stability decreasing slightly. The calculated formation energy shows that V_Zn+Cr_Zn complex forms spontaneously under O-rich conditions. However, under Zn-rich conditions, the complex of V_O+Cr_Zn forms more easily. Thus, ZnO doped with Cr may exhibit a concentration of vacancies that influence the magnetic properties.     

First-principles study on ferromagnetism in C-doped AlN

First-principles calculations are performed to study the electronic structures and magnetic properties of C-doped AlN. Both generalized gradient approximation (GGA) and GGA+U calculations show that a substitutional C atom introduces magnetic moment of about 1.0 μB, which comes from the partially occupied 2p orbitals of the C, its first neighboring Al and first neighboring N atoms (GGA) or out-of-plane first and fifth neighboring N atoms (GGA+U), among which the atomic moment of the C is the biggest. The U correction for the anion-2p states obviously changes the magnetic moment distribution of Al and N atoms and transforms the ground state of C-doped AlN to insulating from half-metallic. The C atoms can induce ferromagnetic ground state with long-range couplings between the moments in C-doped AlN. The ferromagnetic coupling can be explained in terms of the two band coupling model.     

Competition between ferromagnetic and anti-ferromagnetic couplings in Co doped ZnO with vacancies and Ga co-dopants

Spin-polarized first-principles electronic structure and total energy calculations have been performed to better understand the magnetic properties of Co doped ZnO (ZnO:Co) with vacancies and Ga co-dopants. The paramagnetic state of ZnO:Co, in which Co ions lose their magnetic moments, has been found to be unstable. The total energy results show that acceptor-like Zn vacancies and donor-like Ga co-dopants render the anti-ferromagnetic (AFM) and ferromagnetic (FM) states to be more favorable, respectively. With O vacancies, ZnO:Co has been found to be in the weak FM state. These magnetic properties can be understood by the calculated O- and Zn-vacancies and Ga co-dopant induced changes of the electronic structure, which suggest that AFM and FM Co-Co couplings are mediated by O 2p-Co majority (↑)-spin 3d hybridized states in the valence band of ZnO and O-vacancy-derived p states or Ga sp states in the ZnO band gap, respectively. For ZnO:Co with Zn vacancies (Ga co-dopants) the AFM (FM) coupling outweighs the FM (AFM) coupling and results in the AFM (FM) state, while for ZnO:Co with O vacancies, both the FM and AFM couplings are enhanced by similar degrees and result in the weak FM state. This study reveals a competition between FM and AFM couplings in ZnO:Co with vacancies and Ga co-dopants, the detailed balancing between which determines the magnetic properties of these materials.     

Defect induced ferromagnetism in carbon-doped ZnO thin films

We report on room temperature ferromagnetism in C-doped ZnO thin films prepared by electron beam evaporation. Magnetization, Hall effect, X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffraction studies have been conducted to investigate the source and nature of ferromagnetism in C-doped ZnO. The samples were observed to have n-type conduction with the carrier concentration increasing with C doping. XPS does not give any evidence for C substituted at the O site, and is more consistent with the formation of C-O bonds and with the presence of C primarily in the +4 state. It is suggested that the ferromagnetism originates in the development of Zn vacancies that are stabilized due to the incorporation of C in a high valence state (C⁴⁺).     

Ab initio study on nonmetal and nonmagnetic metal atoms doped arsenene

The structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of arsenene doped with a series of nonmetals (B, C, F, N, and O) and nonmagnetic metals (Al, Ga, Li, Mg, and Na) are investigated using density functional theory. Magnetism is observed in the case of C. Among all the cases, the C-doped system is the most stable formed system. Hence, we study the ferromagnetic interaction in two-C-doped arsenene. Interestingly, both nonmagnetic (NM) and antiferromagnetic (AFM) states have been observed. As the increasing C?C distance, the magnetic coupling between the moments induced by two C is found to be AFM and the origin of the coupling can be attributed to the p?p hybridization interaction involving polarized electrons.