High-$T_c$ $d^{0}$ ferromagnetism in a doped Mott insulator: the case of hydrogenated epitaxial graphene on SiC(0001)

TL;DR

This study predicts high-temperature ferromagnetism in hydrogenated epitaxial graphene on SiC substrates, driven by electron doping and modulated by substrate polytype, with potential for room-temperature spintronic applications.

Contribution

It demonstrates, through first-principles calculations, the emergence of high-$T_c$ $d^{0}$ ferromagnetism in doped graphene on SiC, highlighting substrate effects and a Hubbard model analysis.

Findings

High $T_c$ (~400 K) ferromagnetism predicted on 2H-SiC.

Carrier doping induces a phase transition from antiferromagnetism to ferromagnetism.

SiC polytypes significantly influence magnetic interactions.

Abstract

We show that the $d^{0}$ ferromagnetism with high Curie temperature ($T_c$) can be achieved in the electron doped hydrogenated epitaxial graphene on some certain SiC substrates through first-principles calculations. The pristine systems are found to be a Mott insulator independent of SiC polytypes (2$H$, 4$H$ or 6$H$) which, however, play a significant role in the modulation of magnetic interaction. Carrier doping enhances the ferromagnetic coupling due to the double exchange mechanism and thus realizes the phase transition from antiferromagnetism to ferromagnetism. A $T_c$ of around 400 K is predicted on the 2$H$-SiC. We employ a non-degenerate Hubbard model to demonstrate how the SiC affects the interfacial magnetism in intra-atomic Coulomb repulsion and intersite hopping interactions.