Magnetism in C- or N-doped MgO and ZnO: a density-functional study of impurity pairs

Colossal Magnetoresistive Switching Induced by d0 Ferromagnetism of MgO in a Semiconductor Nanochannel Device with Ferromagnetic Fe/MgO Electrodes

Exploring potential spintronic functionalities in resistive switching (RS) devices is of great interest for creating new applications, such as multifunctional resistive random-access memory and novel neuromorphic computing devices. In particular, the importance of the spin-triplet state of cation vacancies in oxide materials, which is induced by localized and strong O-2p on-site Coulomb interactions, in RS devices has been overlooked. d0 ferromagnetism sometimes appears due to the spin-triplet state and ferromagnetic Zener's double exchange interactions between cation vacancies, which are occasionally strong enough to make nonmagnetic oxides ferromagnetic. Here, for the first time, anomalous and colossal magneto-RS (CMRS) with very high magnetic field dependence is demonstrated by utilizing an unconventional RS device composed of a Ge nanochannel with all-epitaxial single-crystalline Fe/MgO electrodes. The device shows colossal and unusual behavior as the threshold voltage and ON/OFF ratio strongly depend on a magnetic field, which is controllable with an applied voltage. This new phenomenon is attributed to the formation of d0 -ferromagnetic filaments by attractive Mg vacancies due to the spin-triplet states with ferromagnetic double exchange interactions and the ferromagnetic proximity effect of Fe on MgO. The findings will allow the development of energy-efficient CMRS devices with multifield susceptibility.

Magnetic Order, Electrical Doping, and Charge-State Coupling at Amphoteric Defect Sites in Mn-Doped 2D Semiconductors

Two-dimensional (2D) dilute magnetic semiconductors (DMSs) are attractive material platforms for applications in multifunctional nanospintronics due to the prospect of embedding controllable magnetic order within nanoscale semiconductors. Identifying candidate host material and dopant systems requires consideration of doping formation energies, magnetic ordering, and the tendency for dopants to form clustered domains. In this work, we consider the defect thermodynamics and the dilute magnetic properties across charge states of 2D-MoS₂ and 2D-WS₂ with Mn magnetic dopants as candidate systems for 2D-DMSs. Using hybrid density functional calculations, we study the magnetic and electronic properties of these systems across configurations with thermodynamically favorable defects: 2D-MoS₂ doped with Mn atoms at sulfur site (Mn_S), at two Mo sites (2Mn_Mo), on top of a Mo atom (Mn-top), and at a Mo site (Mn_Mo). While the majority of the Mn-defect complexes provide trap states, Mn_Mo and Mn_W are amphoteric, although previously predicted to be donor defects. The impact of cluster formation of these amphoteric defects on magnetic ordering is also considered; both Mn_Mo-Mn_Mo (2Mn_2Mo) and Mn_W-Mn_W (2Mn_2W) clusters are found to be stable in ferromagnetic (FM) ordering. Interestingly, we observed the defect charge state dependent magnetic behavior of 2Mn_2Mo and 2Mn_2W clusters in 2D-TMDs. We investigate that the FM coupling of 2Mn_2Mo and 2Mn_2W clusters is stable in only a neutral charge state; however, the antiferromagnetic (AFM) coupling is stable in the +1 charge state. 2Mn_2Mo clusters provide shallow donor levels in AFM coupling and deep donor levels in FM coupling. 2Mn_2W clusters lead to trap states in the FM and AFM coupling. We demonstrate the AFM to FM phase transition at a critical electron density n^c_e = 3.5 × 10¹³ cm^-2 in 2D-MoS₂ and 2D-WS₂. At a 1.85% concentration of Mn, we calculate the Curie temperature of 580 K in the mean-field approximation.

Local magnetic behaviour of highly disordered undoped and Co-doped Bi2Se3 nanoplates: a muon spin relaxation study

Magnetism induced by defects in nominally non-magnetic solids has attracted intense scientific interest in recent years. The local magnetism in highly disordered undoped and Co-doped topological insulator (TI) Bi₂Se₃nanoplates has been investigated by muon spin relaxation (μSR). UsingμSR spectroscopy, together with other macroscopic characterizations, we find that these nanoplates are composed of a core with both static fields and dynamically fluctuating moments, and a shell with purely dynamically fluctuating moments. The fluctuations in the core die out at low temperatures, while those in the shell continue till 2 K. When Bi₂Se₃is doped with Co, the static magnetic component increases, whilst keeping the dual (static-plus-dynamic) nature intact. The findings indicate that highly disordered TI's could constitute a new class of promising magnetic materials that can be engineered by magnetic impurity doping.

Unexpected Ferromagnetism—A Review

The study of magnetism in materials without partially filled d or f bands has gained much attention in the past years. Even though it has challenged the understanding of traditional magnetism, there is a wide range of studies debating the nature of magnetism in such materials. Theories on whether the exhibited ferromagnetic behavior is due to sample impurities or intrinsic structural defects have been published throughout the years. Materials such as hexaborides, non-magnetic oxides, and carbon nanostructures have been of great interest due to their potential applications. For a better understanding, herein, we present a literature review combining past and up-to-date studies on these materials.

Prediction of Site Preference of Implanted Transition Metal Dopants in Rock-salt Oxides

Transition metals (TMs) implanted in oxides with rock-salt crystal structures (for example MgO and BaO) are assumed to substitute cations (Mg in case of MgO) from the lattice sites. We show that not all implanted TMs substitute cations but can be stable in interstitial sites as well. Stability of TM (Sc-Zn) dopants in various charge states in MgO and BaO has been investigated in the framework of density functional theory. We propose an effective way to calculate stability of implanted metals that let us predict site preference (interstitial or substitution) of the dopant in the host. We find that two factors govern the preference for an interstitial site: (i) relative ionic radius and (ii) relative oxygen affinity of cation and the TM dopants. If the radius of the cation is much larger than TM dopant, as in BaO, TM atoms always sit at interstitial sites. On the other hand, if the radius of the cation is comparable to that of the dopant TM, as in case of MgO, the transition of the preferred defect site, from substituting lattice Mg atom (Sc to Mn) to occupying interstitial site (Fe to Zn) is observed. This transition can be attributed to the change in the oxygen affinity of the TM atoms from Sc to Zn. Our results also explain experiments on Ni and Fe atoms implanted in MgO. TM dopants at interstitial sites could show substantially different and new properties from substitutionally doped stable compounds.

Magnetic Properties and Spontaneous Polarization of La-, Mn- and N-Doped Tetragonal BiFeO₃: A First-Principles Study

Multiferroic materials have been receiving attention for their potential applications in multifunctional devices. Chemical substitution is an effective method for improving the physical properties of BiFeO₃ (BFO). However, different experimental results have been reported for Lanthanum- (La-) and Manganese (Mn) -doped BFO ceramics. Here, we systematically studied the magnetic properties and spontaneous polarization of La-, Mn-, and Nitrogen (N) -doped tetragonal BiFeO₃ using density functional theory with the generalized gradient approximation and U-value method. The calculated results demonstrated that the systems show ferromagnetism with Mn and N doping, whereas no magnetization was found with La doping in G- and C-type antiferromagnetic orderings. Our research further revealed that the ferromagnetism is attributed to the p-d orbital hybridization. Berry-phase polarization calculations predicted a large polarization of 149.2 µC/cm² along the [001] direction of pure tetragonal BFO. We found that La and N substitution had little influence on the spontaneous polarization, whereas Mn substitution reduced the spontaneous polarization. The reduced energy barrier heights of the doped systems indicate the reduced stability of the off-centering ferroelectricity against the thermal agitation. These findings provide greater understanding for controlling and tuning the multiferroic properties of BFO.

Magnesium β-ketoiminates as CVD precursors for MgO formation

The synthesis and characterization of bis(ketoiminato)magnesium(ii) complexes of composition [Mg(OCR²CH₂CHR¹NCH₂CH₂X)₂] (X = NMe₂: 3a, R¹ = R² = Me; 3b, R¹ = Me, R² = Ph. X = OMe: 3c, R¹ = R² = Me) are reported.

Room temperature d (0) ferromagnetism in hole doped Y2O3: widening the choice of host to tailor DMS

Transition metal-free-ferromagnetism in diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMS) is of much current interest in view of the search for more efficient DMS materials for spintronics applications. Our DFT results predict for the first time, that impurities from group1A (Li(+), Na(+), K(+)) doped on Y2O3 can induce a magnetic signature with a magnetic moment around 2.0 μ B per defect at hole concentrations around 1.63  ×  10(21) cm(-3), which is one order less than the critical hole density of ZnO with ferromagnetic coupling large enough to promote room temperature ferromagnetism. The induction of room temperature ferromagnetism by hole doping with an impurity atom from group 1A, which injects two holes per defect in the system, implies that the recommendation of three holes per defect given in the literature, which puts a restriction on the choice of host material and the impurity, is not a necessary criterion for hole induced room temperature ferromagnetism. DFT simulations with the generalized gradient approximation (GGA), confirmed by the more sophisticated hybrid functional, Heyd-Scuseria-Ernzerhof (HSE06), predict that the magnetic moment is mostly contributed by O atoms surrounding the impurity atom and the magnetic moment scale up with impurity concentration which is a positive indicator for practical applications. We quantitatively and extensively demonstrate through the analysis of the density of states and ferromagnetic coupling that the Stoner criterion is satisfied by pushing the Fermi level inside the valence band to activate room temperature ferromagnetism. The stability of the structure and the persistence of ferromagnetism at room temperature were demonstrated by ab initio MD simulations and computation of Curie temperature through the mean field approximation. This study widens the choice of host oxides to tailor DMS for spintronics applications.

Ferromagnetism in ultrathin MoS2 nanosheets: from amorphous to crystalline

Two-dimensional materials have various applications in the next generation nanodevices because of their easy fabrication and particular properties. In this work, we studied the effects of crystalline order on the magnetic properties of ultrathin MoS2 nanosheets. Results indicate that all the fabricated samples show clear room temperature ferromagnetism. The amorphous sample has the larger saturation magnetization than that of the crystallized samples, where the disordered grain boundary or defects in the nanosheets are considered to be responsible for the long-range magnetic order. These MoS2 nanosheets with versatile functions may have potential applications in spintronics, nanodevices, and photodevices.

Possible mechanism for d0 ferromagnetism mediated by intrinsic defects

We present insights into the role of vacancies and surface states in the d⁰ ferromagnetism of ZnS nanostructures.

The synergistic character of the defect-induced magnetism in diluted magnetic semiconductors and related magnetic materials

In this work, we introduce a new perspective in explaining the origin of magnetism in dilute magnetic semiconductors, carbon-based materials and other related materials. According to our proposal, the magnetism in these materials is the result of the synergistic action of defect-induced electronic processes mostly of local character which can provide magnetic moments and develop a ferromagnetic coupling among them. This synergy is realizable via appropriate codoping which appears as a general and generic approach. In the present report, we use ab initio results to demonstrate that in a diverse sample of systems including codoped ZnO, GaN, TiO(2) and carbon-based materials, the ferromagnetic coupling that is developed among the doped (or defect-induced) magnetic moments results from the interaction of spin-polarized neighborhoods centered at the defect sites. Our results also give evidence that bipartite codopant configurations can further enhance the ferromagnetic features of these systems significantly.

d0 ferromagnetic interface between nonmagnetic perovskites

We use computational and experimental methods to study d(0) ferromagnetism at a charge-imbalanced interface between two perovskites. In SrTiO(3)/KTaO(3) superlattice calculations, the charge imbalance introduces holes in the SrTiO(3) layer, inducing a d(0) ferromagnetic half-metallic 2D hole gas at the interface oxygen 2p orbitals. The charge imbalance overrides doping by vacancies at realistic concentrations. Varying the constituent materials shows ferromagnetism to be a general property of hole-type d(0) perovskite interfaces. Atomically sharp epitaxial d(0) SrTiO(3)/KTaO(3), SrTiO(3)/KNbO(3), and SrTiO(3)/NaNbO(3) interfaces are found to exhibit ferromagnetic hysteresis at room temperature. We suggest that the behavior is due to the high density of states and exchange coupling at the oxygen t(1g) band in comparison with the more studied d band t(2g) symmetry electron gas.

Nitrogen- and fluorine-doped ZrO2: a promising p-n junction for an ultraviolet light-emitting diode

In this work we study the effect of nitrogen (N) and fluorine (F) doping on the electronic properties of ZrO(2) by using ab initio electronic structure calculations. Our calculations show the importance of on-site Coulomb correlation in estimating the correct band gap of ZrO(2). The N and F doping provide hole- and electron-type impurity states in the band gap closer to the top of the valence band and the bottom of the conduction band, respectively. The formation of such impurity states may be exploited in fabricating a p-n junction expected to be useful in making an ultraviolet light-emitting diode.

The role of N dopant in inducing ferromagnetism in (ZnO)n clusters (n = 1-16)

The effect of nitrogen doping on the magnetic properties of (ZnO)(n) clusters (n = 1-16) has been investigated using spin polarized density functional theory. The total energy calculations suggest that N is more stable at the O site than at the Zn site in (ZnO)(n) clusters and induces a magnetic moment of 1 μ(B)/N atom. The N-Zn-N configuration is more stable than isolated N for 3D structures. The N dopants do not show any tendency for clustering. The binding energy is found to decrease with the increase in the number of N dopants. The magnetic moment increases gradually with the increase in the number of atoms with 1 μ(B)/N atom for n ≤ 4 and less than 1 μ(B)/N for n > 4. The local magnetic moment is mainly localized at the N site with a small magnetic moment induced at the O site. The presence of a Zn vacancy (V(Zn)) induced an additional magnetic moment of 2 μ(B) on the nearest O atoms. The N dopant prefers to form a N-V(Zn) pair. The combination of N and V(Zn) in 3D structures leads to a total magnetic moment of 3 μB. The Mulliken charge transfers from Zn to N and O in all N doped (ZnO)(n) clusters. The calculated results are consistent with existing experimental and theoretical results.

Ferromagnetic spin coupling of 2p impurities in band insulators stabilized by an intersite Coulomb interaction: nitrogen-doped MgO

For a nitrogen dimer in insulating MgO, a ferromagnetic coupling between spin-polarized 2p holes is revealed by calculations based on the density functional theory amended by an on-site Coulomb interaction and corroborated by the Hubbard model. It is shown that the ferromagnetic coupling is facilitated by a T-shaped orbital arrangement of the 2p holes, which is in its turn controlled by an intersite Coulomb interaction due to the directionality of the p orbitals. We thus conjecture that this interaction is an important ingredient of ferromagnetism in band insulators with 2p dopants.