Li(Zn,Co,Mn)As: A bulk form diluted magnetic semiconductor with Co and Mn co-doping at Zn sites

We report the synthesis and characterization of a series of bulk forms of diluted magnetic semiconductors Li(Zn1-x-yCoxMny)As with a crystal structure close to that of III-V diluted magnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)As. No ferromagnetic order occurs with single (Zn,Co) or (Zn, Mn) substitution in the parent compound LiZnAs. Only with co-doped Co and Mn ferromagnetic ordering can occur at the Curie temperature ∼40 K. The maximum saturation moment of the this system reached to 2.17μB/Mn, which is comparable to that of Li (Zn,Mn)As. It is the first time that a diluted magnetic semiconductor with co-doping Co and Mn into Zn sites is achieved in “111” LiZnAs system, which could be utilized to investigate the basic science of ferromagnetism in diluted magnetic semiconductors. In addition, ferromagnetic Li(Zn,Co,Mn)As, antiferromagnetic LiMnAs, and superconducting LiFeAs share square lattice at As layers, which may enable the development of novel heterojunction devices in the future.