Room-temperature magnetic p-n junctions for charge-and-spin diodes

TL;DR

This paper introduces room-temperature magnetic p-n junctions combining magnetic semiconductors and silicon, demonstrating charge and spin diode functionalities with significant magnetic enhancements, aiming to improve electronic device performance.

Contribution

The work presents the first magnetic p-n junctions operating at room temperature, integrating magnetic semiconductors with silicon to enable charge and spin diode functionalities.

Findings

Giant magnetic enhancement of ~24.36% at 5 mA

29-fold increase in magnetic moments of p-AMS

Exhibits typical diode and distinctive spin diode characteristics

Abstract

Non-magnetic p-n junctions have been fundamental components in the silicon era, serving as the backbone for nearly all Si-based semiconductor devices, including transistors. To tackle challenges such as scaling limitations, excessive latency, and high-power consumption in Si-based electronics, we develop magnetic p-n junctions composed of a p-type amorphous magnetic semiconductor (p-AMS) and n-type Si. These charge-and-spin junctions exhibit typical diode characteristics for charge current, along with distinctive spin diode features. By manipulating spin-polarized space charges, we observed a giant magnetic enhancement of approximately 24.36% at a breakdown current of 5 mA, and an impressive 29-fold increase in magnetic moments for p-AMS. The observed spin behavior is attributed to space charge effects or carrier depletion in the p-AMS with extended hole states.