The Nature of the magnetism-promoting hole state in the prototype magnetic semiconductor GaAs: Mn

TL;DR

This paper investigates the role of impurity band carriers, especially Mn d-levels, in mediating ferromagnetism in GaAs: Mn, using a first-principles theoretical approach to clarify the underlying physical mechanism.

Contribution

It provides a first-principles analysis of how impurity band carriers, rather than valence band holes, promote ferromagnetism in GaAs: Mn, highlighting the role of Mn d-levels.

Findings

Impurity band carriers are key to ferromagnetism in GaAs: Mn.

Mn d-levels significantly influence the magnetic interactions.

Theoretical results support impurity band-mediated ferromagnetism.

Abstract

Recent experiments [1] suggest that the ferromagnetism (FM) in GaAs: Mn is determined by the impurity band rather than holes in the valence band. We discuss here the physical mechanism of FM mediated by the carriers in impurity band, where the Mn d-level play a crucial role. The theory is based on the first principle approach.