Magnetism of Semiconductor-Based Magnetic Tunnel Junctions under Electric Field from First Principles
Semiconductor magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs), composed of diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMSs) sandwiching a semiconductor barrier, have potential applications in spintronics but their development has been slow due to the difficulty of controlling the magnetism of DMSs. In terms of density functional calculations for model semiconductor MTJs, (Zn,Co)O/ZnO/(Zn,Co)O and (Ga,Mn)N/GaN/(Ga,Mn)N, we show that the magnetic coupling between the transition metal ions in each DMS electrode of such semiconductor MTJs can be switched from ferromagnetic to antiferromagnetic, or vice versa, under the application of external electric field across the junctions. Our results suggest a possible avenue for the application of semiconductor MTJs.
- Research Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC36-08GO28308
- OSTI ID:
- 1021218
- Journal Information:
- Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 94, Issue 25, June 2009; Related Information: Article No. 252102; ISSN 0003-6951
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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