With the discovery of giant magnetoresistance(GMR),research effort has been made to exploiting the influence of spins on the mobility of electrons in ferromagnetic materials and/or artificial structures,which has lead to the idea of spintronics.A brief introduction is given to GMR effects from scientific background to experimental observations and theoretical models.In addition,the mechanisms of various magnetoresistance beyond the GMR are reviewed,for instance,tunnelling magnetoresistance,colossal magnetoresistance,and magnetoresistance in ferromagnetic semiconductors,nanowires,organic spintronics and non-magnetic systems.
Amorphous MnxGe1-x：H ferromagnetic semiconductor films prepared in mixed Ar with 20% H2 by magnetron co- sputtering show global ferromagnetism with positive coercivity at low temperatures. With increasing temperature, the coercivity of MnxGe1-x：H films first changes from positive to negative, and then back to positive again, which was not found in the corresponding MnxGe1-x and other ferromagnetic semiconductors before. For Mn0.4Ge0.6：H film, the inverted Hall loop is also observed at 30 K, which is consistent with the negative coercivity. The negative coercivity is explained by the antiferromagnetic exchange coupling between the H-rich ferromagnetic regions separated by the H-poor non-ferromagnetic spacers. Hydrogenation is a useful method to tune the magnetic properties of MnxGe1-x films for the application in spintronics.
Three types of a-C:Co/Si samples were fabricated using the pulsed laser deposition: Co2-C98/8i with Co dispersed in the a-C film, Co2-C98/Si with Co segregated at the interface, and a-C/Co/Si with Co continuously distributed at the a-C/Si interface. Both types of Co2-C98/Si samples had the positive bias-voltage-dependent magnetoresistance (MR) at 300 K, and all MRs had saturated behavior. The study on the electrotransport properties indicated that the MR appeared in the diffusion current region, and the mechanism of MR was proposed to be that the applied magnetic field and local random magnetic field caused by the superparamagnetic Co particles modulate the ratio of singlet and triplet spin states, resulting in the MR effect. In addition, the very different physical and structural properties of all samples revealed that Co played a crucial role in the room-temperature positive MR of a-C:Co/Si system.
This paper proposes a universal spin-dependent variable range hopping theoretical model to describe various experimental transport phenomena observed in wide-band-gap oxide ferromagnetic semiconductors with high transition metal concentration. The contributions of the ＇hard gap＇ energy, Coulomb interaction, correlation energy, and exchange interaction to the electrical transport are considered in the universal variable range hopping theoretical model. By fitting the temperature and magnetic field dependence of the experimental sheet resistance to the theoretical model, the spin polarization ratio of electrical carriers near the Fermi level and interactions between electrical carriers can be obtained.
We give a brief introduction to the oxide （ZnO, TiO2, In2O3, SnO2, etc.）-based magnetic semiconductors from fundamental material aspects through fascinating magnetic, transport, and optical properties, particularly at room temperature, to promising device applications. The origin of the observed ferromagnetism is also discussed, with a special focus on first-principles investigations of the exchange interactions between transition metal dopants in oxide-based magnetic semiconductors.
Atomistic simulation has been performed to investigate the dynamical and defect properties of multiferroic hexagonal YMnO3 with newly developed interaction potentials. Dynamical calculation reveals that phonon vibrations of hexagonal YMnO3 are quite different from those of orthorhombic YMnO3. Defect calculation finds that O Frenkel is the most probable intrinsic disorder, and Mn antisite defect is favorable to exist, especially for Mn ions entering the Y2 sites. It is also found that holes prefer to localize at O2sites rather than at Mn3+ sites, while the electron can be localized at the Mn3+ site. The disproportionation of Mn3+ ions is unlikely to occur in hexagonal YMnO3.
ZnO thin film growth prefers different orientations on the etched and unetched SrTiO 3（STO）（110） substrates.Inclined ZnO and cobalt-doped ZnO（ZnCoO） thin films are grown on unetched STO（110） substrates using oxygen plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy,with the c-axis 42 inclined from the normal STO（110） surface.The growth geometries are ZnCoO[100]//STO[110] and ZnCoO[111]//STO[001].The low temperature photoluminescence spectra of the inclined ZnO and ZnCoO films are dominated by D 0 X emissions associated with A 0 X emissions,and the characteristic emissions for the 2 E（2G）→ 4A2（4F） transition of Co 2＋ dopants and the relevant phonon-participated emissions are observed in the ZnCoO film,indicating the incorporation of Co 2＋ ions at the lattice positions of the Zn 2＋ ions.The c-axis inclined ZnCoO film shows ferromagnetic properties at room temperature.
