Electronic structure and magnetism of Ge(Sn)TMXTe1−X (TM = V, Cr, Mn): A first principles study

This work presents the results of first principles calculations of the electronic and magnetic properties of the compound SnTe and GeTe in zinc blende (ZB) and rock salt (RS) structures, doped with 3d transition metal V, Cr, and Mn. The present study, initiated from the viewpoint of potential application in spintronics, is motivated by our earlier work involving these two compounds, where the doping was limited to the Sn and Ge sublattices. In view of some discrepancies between our calculated results and the available experimental data, in this work we have examined the effect of the Te-sublattice doping. The case of Mn-doping, where the previous results of calculations seemed to differ most from the experimentally available data, is examined further by looking at the effect of Mn atoms partially occupying interstitial sites as well. From the standpoint of potential application in spintronics, we look for half-metallic (HM) states and tabulate their properties in both rock salt and zinc blende structures. ZB structure is found to be more conducive to HM state in general. Among the binary compounds we identify several HM candidates: VGe, VSn, MnGe, MnSn and MnTe at their equilibrium volumes and all in ZB structure. Estimates of the Curie temperature for the ferromagnetic compounds including the half-metals are presented. It is shown that despite the ferromagnetic (FM) nature of the Mn-Mn interaction for the Te-doped case, a simultaneous doping of both Ge(Sn)- and Te-sublattice with Mn atoms would leave the material predominantly antiferromagnetic (AFM).