Thermodynamics of carrier-mediated magnetism in semiconductors

TL;DR

This paper introduces a thermodynamic model for carrier-mediated ferromagnetism in semiconductors, analyzing temperature-dependent stability of magnetic states and exploring reentrant ferromagnetism where higher temperatures induce magnetism.

Contribution

It presents a novel thermodynamic framework that incorporates temperature-dependent carriers to study magnetic phase stability and reentrant ferromagnetism in semiconductors.

Findings

Model predicts stability regions for magnetic phases.

Reentrant ferromagnetism can occur with increasing temperature.

Provides phase diagrams for magnetic states.

Abstract

We propose a model of carrier-mediated ferromagnetism in semiconductors that accounts for the temperature dependence of the carriers. The model permits analysis of the thermodynamic stability of competing magnetic states, opening the door to the construction of magnetic phase diagrams. As an example we analyze the stability of a possible reentrant ferromagnetic semiconductor, in which increasing temperature leads to an increased carrier density, such that the enhanced exchange coupling between magnetic impurities results in the onset of ferromagnetism as temperature is raised.