Ferromagnetism in semiconductors doped with non-magnetic elements

Abstract

Materials with specific magnetic properties are required for spin generation, manipulation, and detection for spintronics applications. Transition metal (TM) doped semiconductors and oxides, which were expected to meet this requirement, are facing problems due to formation of secondary phases and clusters. To overcome this problem, researchers have gone beyond traditional magnetic TM doped semiconductors and oxides and have started looking for alternative dopants. Some breakthroughs have been made recently. In this article, we review progress made along this direction and discuss possible origins of the unexpected ferromagnetism observed in materials without magnetic elements. We focus on dilute magnetic semiconductors and oxides obtained by doping with elements with a full d-shell or 2p light elements. It has been demonstrated that room temperature ferromagnetism can be achieved in such systems. © 2009 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.