Control of Spin in La(Mn,Zn)AsO Alloy by Carrier Doping

TL;DR

This paper proposes a novel LaMn0.5Zn0.5AsO alloy that can switch its magnetic and electronic states via carrier doping, offering a promising route for electric-field-controlled spintronic devices.

Contribution

It introduces a new alloy with tunable magnetic and electronic properties controlled by carrier doping, based on first-principles calculations.

Findings

The alloy is an antiferromagnetic semiconductor at ground state.

Doping induces a transition to ferromagnetic and half-metal states.

Spin polarization direction depends on the type of doped carriers.

Abstract

The control of spin without magnetic field is one of challenges in developing spintronic devices. In an attempt to solve this problem, we proposed a novel hypothetic LaMn0.5Zn0.5AsO alloy from two experimentally synthesized rare earth element transition metal arsenide oxides, i.e. LaMnAsO and LaZnAsO. On the basis of the first-principles calculations with strong-correlated correction, we found that the LaMn0.5Zn0.5AsO alloy is an antiferromagnetic semiconductor at ground state, while bipolar magnetic semiconductor at ferromagnetic state. Both electron and hole doping in the LaMn0.5Zn0.5AsO alloy induces the transition from antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic, as well as semiconductor to half metal. In particular, the spin-polarization direction is switchable depending on the doped carrier's type. As carrier doping can be realized easily in experiment by applying a gate voltage, the LaMn0.5Zn0.5AsO alloy stands for a promising spintronic material to generate and control the spin-polarized carriers with electric field.