Zener model description of ferromagnetism in zinc-blende magnetic semiconductors

Abstract

Ferromagnetism in manganese compound semiconductors not only opens prospects for tailoring magnetic and spin-related phenomena in semiconductors with a precision specific to III-V compounds but also addresses a question about the origin of the magnetic interactions that lead to a Curie temperature (TC) as high as 110 K for a manganese concentration of just 5%. Zener's model of ferromagnetism, originally proposed for transition metals in 1950, can explain TC of Ga1-xMnxAs and that of its II-VI counterpart Zn1-xMnxTe and is used to predict materials with TC exceeding room temperature, an important step toward semiconductor electronics that use both charge and spin.