English

Dilute ferromagnetic semiconductors: Physics and spintronic structures

Materials Science 2014-04-02 v3

Abstract

This review compiles results of experimental and theoretical studies on thin films and quantum structures of semiconductors with randomly distributed Mn ions, which exhibit spintronic functionalities associated with collective ferromagnetic spin ordering. Properties of p-type Mn-containing III-V as well as II-VI, V_2-VI_3, IV-VI, I-II-V, and elemental group IV semiconductors are described paying particular attention to the most thoroughly investigated system (Ga,Mn)As that supports the hole-mediated ferromagnetic order up to 190 K for the net concentration of Mn spins below 10%. Multilayer structures showing efficient spin injection and spin-related magnetotransport properties as well as enabling magnetization manipulation by strain, light, electric fields, and spin currents are presented together with their impact on metal spintronics. The challenging interplay between magnetic and electronic properties in topologically trivial and non-trivial systems is described, emphasizing the entangled roles of disorder and correlation at the carrier localization boundary. Finally, the case of dilute magnetic insulators is considered, such as (Ga,Mn)N, where low temperature spin ordering is driven by short-ranged superexchange that is ferromagnetic for certain charge states of magnetic impurities.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1307.3429,
  title  = {Dilute ferromagnetic semiconductors: Physics and spintronic structures},
  author = {Tomasz Dietl and Hideo Ohno},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1307.3429},
  year   = {2014}
}

Comments

72 pages, 55 figures, this version contains referees' recommendations and is (virtually) identical to the printed one

R2 v1 2026-06-22T00:50:26.359Z