Non-transition-metal doped diluted magnetic semiconductors

Based on first-principles calculations, we have investigated the magnetic properties of non-transition-metal doped semiconductors Al(N,X) and Zn(O,X), where X is a first row atom. It is revealed that the dopant can remain magnetic only if it is less electronegative than the substituted host anion atom and the dopant 2p states are located within the energy gap of the host. The calculated magnetic moment per dopant in μB is the atomic number difference between the dopant and the host anion atom. The global magnetic order is determined by the hole number, the interaction between the 2p dopant states and their exchange splitting. It is found that the Curie temperature is highest when the atomic number of the dopant is smaller than that of the anion by two.