Carrier-mediated ferromagnetism in N codoped (Zn,Mn)O(101¯0)thin films

Abstract

Using first principles calculations based on the density functional theory and generalized gradient approximation we show that the ground state of Mn doped ZnO $\left(10\overline{1}0\right)$ thin film changes from antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic when codoped with N. The ferromagnetic coupling between Mn spins arises due to the overlap between N $2p$ and Mn $3d$ electrons in the spin up band, rendering the system half-metallic character.