Electronic and magnetic structures of 4f inGa1−xGdxN

Abstract

Listen

Translate article

Electronic structures and magnetic properties of Gd-doped GaN havebeen investigated within the framework of density functional theory. First,the density of states and band structure of GdN (terminal compound ofGa1−xGdxN) are presented. Second, the wurtzite type GaN:Gd magnetic semiconductors are studied bychanging the Gd content. Magnetic stability, net spin exchange splitting andcorrelation of 4f electrons are analyzed, comparing them to the GaN:TM cases.Finally, the magnetic moment in Gd-doped GaN is calculated. Changing the Gdconcentration hardly influences the magnetic moment of the system. Analyzing thex = 0.03 125 case, we find that the polarized magnetic moment of N by Gd atoms is very small, only about 0.01μB and the polarization of N away from Gd can be ignored. Both long range spinpolarization of the GaN matrix by the Gd atoms and the obvious magneticmoment change with Gd content are not found in our work. This studyprovides a further understanding of electronic and magnetic structures forGa1−xGdxN.