Electronic structures of the ferrimagnetic double-perovskites Sr2XReO6 (X = Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni) with the modified Becke-Johnson potential

Abstract

We investigate the electronic structures and magnetic properties of the ferrimagnetic double-perovskites Sr2XReO6 (X = Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni) by using Tran and Blaha’s modified Becke and Johnson exchange potential. The calculated results show that Sr2XReO6 (X = Cr, Fe) are half-metals, and Sr2XReO6 (X = Mn, Ni) are insulators, which is in accordance with the experimental results. By using the ionic picture, we explain the trend in the density of states and total magnetic moment with X changing from Cr to Ni. We find that the insulating property is associated with X2 +, while the metallic character is associated with X3 +. The Re t 2g splitting in the minority channel leads to insulativity of Sr2XReO6 (X = Mn, Ni), and the Re t 2g splitting of Sr2MnReO6 is caused by lattice distortion, while Sr2NiReO6’s splitting is due to the heavier atomic mass of Ni. When spin-orbit coupling is included, the spin polarization of Sr2XReO6 (X = Cr, Fe) drifts off 100%, and the related gaps of Sr2XReO6 (X = Mn, Ni) become narrow. The spin-orbit coupling results in a significant increase in the total magnetic moment due to an unquenched Re orbital moment. Our calculated energy band structures show that Sr2MnReO6 is a spin gapless semiconductor, which can realize fully polarized spin-down electrons and spin-up holes.