Trends in ferromagnetism, hole localization, and acceptor level depth for Mn substitution in

TL;DR

This paper investigates the underlying mechanism of ferromagnetism in dilute magnetic semiconductors across different host materials, revealing a unified explanation that challenges previous host-dependent theories.

Contribution

It demonstrates that a single intrinsic mechanism explains ferromagnetic stabilization in Mn-doped semiconductors from GaN to GaSb, regardless of host differences.

Findings

A unified mechanism explains ferromagnetism across all studied hosts.

The electronic structure trends correlate with ferromagnetic stabilization.

Previous host-dependent interpretations are challenged by the new analysis.

Abstract

We examine the intrinsic mechanism of ferromagnetism in dilute magnetic semiconductors by analyzing the trends in the electronic structure as the host is changed from GaN to GaP, GaAs and GaSb, keeping the transition metal impurity fixed. In contrast with earlier interpretations which depended on the host semiconductor, we found that a single mechanism is sufficient to explain the ferromagnetic stabilization energy for the entire series.