Density functional study on the ferromagnetism of alkaline earth doped InN

Abstract

Recently, p-type conduction of InN doped by alkaline earth was reported in experiments. However, the magnetic property of the doped systems has not been studied. We systematically investigate the magnetic property of alkaline-earth doped InN by density-functional theory. Our results reveal that the ground state of the doped system transits from nonmagnetic state to spin-polarized state, and the holes introduced into the valence band become more localized as the defect ranges from Be to Ba. As a result, strong half-metallic ferromagnetism emerges for Sr- or Ba-doped InN. Our calculations reveal that the formation energy of defect is much lower for nitrogen-rich condition, under which the doped system can be favorably synthesized.