Bo Gu

Li(Zn,Mn)As as a new generation ferromagnet based on a I–II–V semiconductor

In a prototypical ferromagnet (Ga,Mn)As based on a III-V semiconductor, substitution of divalent Mn atoms into trivalent Ga sites leads to severely limited chemical solubility and metastable specimens available only as thin films. The doping of hole carriers via (Ga,Mn) substitution also prohibits electron doping. To overcome these difficulties, Masek et al. theoretically proposed systems based on a I-II-V semiconductor LiZnAs, where isovalent (Zn,Mn) substitution is decoupled from carrier doping with excess/deficient Li concentrations. Here we show successful synthesis of Li(1+y)(Zn(1-x)Mn(x))As in bulk materials. Ferromagnetism with a critical temperature of up to 50 K is observed in nominally Li-excess (y=0.05-0.2) compounds with Mn concentrations of x=0.02-0.15, which have p-type metallic carriers. This is presumably due to excess Li in substitutional Zn sites. Semiconducting LiZnAs, ferromagnetic Li(Zn,Mn)As, antiferromagnetic LiMnAs, and superconducting LiFeAs systems share square lattice As layers, which may enable development of novel junction devices in the future.

Anisotropic two dimensional electron gas at the LaAlO3/SrTiO3(110) interface

The observation of a high-mobility two-dimensional electron gas between two insulating complex oxides, especially LaAlO3/SrTiO3, has enhanced the potential of oxides for electronics. The occurrence of this conductivity is believed to be driven by polarization discontinuity, leading to an electronic reconstruction. In this scenario, the crystal orientation has an important role and no conductivity would be expected, for example, for the interface between LaAlO3 and (110)-oriented SrTiO3, which should not have a polarization discontinuity. Here we report the observation of unexpected conductivity at the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface prepared on (110)-oriented SrTiO3, with a LaAlO3-layer thickness-dependent metal-insulator transition. Density functional theory calculation reveals that electronic reconstruction, and thus conductivity, is still possible at this (110) interface by considering the energetically favourable (110) interface structure, that is, buckled TiO2/LaO, in which the polarization discontinuity is still present. The conductivity was further found to be strongly anisotropic along the different crystallographic directions with potential for anisotropic superconductivity and magnetism, leading to possible new physics and applications.

Unexpected Anisotropic Two Dimensional Electron Gas at the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 (110) Interface

The observation of a high-mobility two-dimensional electron gas between two insulating complex oxides, especially LaAlO3/SrTiO3, has enhanced the potential of oxides for electronics. The occurrence of this conductivity is believed to be driven by polarization discontinuity, leading to an electronic reconstruction. In this scenario, the crystal orientation has an important role and no conductivity would be expected, for example, for the interface between LaAlO3 and (110)-oriented SrTiO3, which should not have a polarization discontinuity. Here we report the observation of unexpected conductivity at the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface prepared on (110)-oriented SrTiO3, with a LaAlO3-layer thickness-dependent metal-insulator transition. Density functional theory calculation reveals that electronic reconstruction, and thus conductivity, is still possible at this (110) interface by considering the energetically favourable (110) interface structure, that is, buckled TiO2/LaO, in which the polarization discontinuity is still present. The conductivity was further found to be strongly anisotropic along the different crystallographic directions with potential for anisotropic superconductivity and magnetism, leading to possible new physics and applications.

Possible d 0 ferromagnetism in MgO doped with nitrogen

We study the possibility of d0 ferromagnetism in the compound MgO doped with nitrogen (N). The Haldane-Anderson impurity model is formulated within the tight-binding approximation for determining the host band-structure and the impurity-host hybridization. Using the quantum Monte Carlo technique, we observe a finite local moment for an N impurity, and long-range ferromagnetic correlations between two N impurities. The ferromagnetic correlations are strongly influenced by the impurity bound state. When the ferromagnetic correlation between a pair of impurities is mapped onto the isotropic Heisenberg model for two spin-1/2 particles, the effective exchange constant J12 is found to increase with increasing temperature. Similar temperature dependence of J12 is also obtained in other diluted magnetic semiconductors, such as zincblende ZnO doped with Mn. The temperature dependence of J12 suggests that the mapping of the full Hamiltonian onto the spin Hamiltonian cannot fully describe the magnetic correlations for the diluted magnetic semiconductors at least in the limit of low impurity spin.

Surface-Assisted Spin Hall Effect in Au Films with Pt Impurities

We show, both experimentally and theoretically, a novel route to obtain giant room temperature spin-Hall effect due to surface-assisted skew scattering. In the experiment, we report the spin-Hall effect in Pt-doped Au films with different thicknesses t(N). The giant spin-Hall angle γ(S)=0.12±0.04 is obtained for t(N)=10 nm at room temperature, while it is much smaller for the t(N)=20 nm sample. Combined ab initio and quantum Monte Carlo calculations for the skew scattering due to a Pt impurity show γ(S)≅0.1 on the Au (111) surface, while it is small in bulk Au. The quantum Monte Carlo results show that the spin-orbit interaction of the Pt impurity on the Au (111) surface is enhanced, because the Pt 5d levels are lifted to the Fermi level due to the valence fluctuation. In addition, there are two spin-orbit interaction channels on the Au (111) surface, while only one in bulk Au.

Diluted ferromagnetic semiconductor Li(Zn,Mn)P with decoupled charge and spin doping

We report the discovery of a diluted magnetic semiconductor, Li(Zn,Mn)P, in which charge and spin are introduced independently via lithium off-stoichiometry and the isovalent substitution of Mn2+ for Zn2+, respectively. Isostructural to (Ga,Mn)As, Li(Zn, Mn) P was found to be a p-type ferromagnetic semiconductor with excess lithium providing charge doping. First-principles calculations indicate that excess Li is favored to partially occupy the Zn site, leading to hole doping. Ferromagnetism with Curie temperature up to 34 K is achieved while the system still shows semiconducting transport behavior.

Magnetism and thermodynamics of spin-1/2 heisenberg diamond chains in a magnetic field

The magnetic and thermodynamic properties of spin-

Thermodynamics of spin-1/2 antiferromagnet-antiferromagnet-ferromagnet and ferromagnet-ferromagnet-antiferromagnet trimerized quantum Heisenberg chains

1∕2

The spin Hall effect as a probe of nonlinear spin fluctuations

Heisenberg diamond chains are investigated in three different cases: (a)

Quantum Renormalization of the Spin Hall Effect

{J}_{1}