Magnetic Properties of Diluted Magnetic Semiconductors

Diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMS) are conventional semiconductor hosts into which a small fraction of magnetic ions has been introduced, yielding materials that combine charge transport with tunable magnetic order. The magnetic properties of DMS arise from exchange interactions between the localised spins of the dopant ions and the itinerant carriers of the host lattice. Key features include carrier-mediated ferromagnetism, adjustable Curie temperatures through dopant concentration and carrier density, and phenomena such as bound magnetic polaron formation. These materials exhibit magnetocrystalline anisotropy inherited from the host lattice, yet modified by the symmetry and spin–orbit coupling of the magnetic ion. Advances in epitaxial growth and defect engineering have clarified the role of vacancies and interstitials, revealing that both substitutional dopants and native defects can stabilise long-range magnetic order. Such control over spin and charge degrees of freedom underpins emerging spintronic applications, from non-volatile magnetic memory to electric-field-driven magnetisation switching and multifunctional p–n junction devices.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Electric-field control of magnetisation has been demonstrated in Ga1–xMnxN films grown by molecular beam epitaxy, where inverse piezoelectric strain modulates the single-ion anisotropy and yields a reversible, odd-in-field magnetoelectric response. In a metastable regime, time-dependent electric fields induce non-linear, irreversible reorientation of the ferromagnetic hysteresis, offering a pathway to energy-efficient magnetic switching. Investigations into Cu-doped ZnO have identified overlapping bound magnetic polarons, formed by Cu2+ ions interacting with zinc-vacancy holes, as the origin of room-temperature ferromagnetism. The exchange coupling mediated by vacancies leads to anhysteretic, temperature-independent magnetisation below Curie temperatures well above ambient. A complementary strategy, oxidising a ferromagnetic metallic glass, has produced a p-type magnetic semiconductor with a Curie temperature exceeding 600 K. This novel material exhibits p–n heterojunction behaviour and electric-field modulation of ferromagnetism, demonstrating that oxidation of amorphous alloys can yield high-temperature magnetic semiconductors with unique multifunctionality.

Magnetic Properties of Diluted Magnetic Semiconductors publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in magnetic properties of diluted magnetic semiconductors across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Diluted magnetic semiconductor: A semiconductor in which a small proportion of magnetic ions replaces host cations, combining semiconducting and magnetic properties.

Curie temperature: The temperature above which a ferromagnetic material loses its spontaneous magnetisation and becomes paramagnetic.

Bound magnetic polaron: A quasiparticle formed by a charge carrier localised at a defect and the alignment of surrounding magnetic-ion spins through exchange interactions.

Magnetoelectric effect: The coupling by which an applied electric field induces a change in magnetisation or vice versa.

Magnetocrystalline anisotropy: The directional dependence of a material’s magnetic energy on the orientation of magnetisation relative to its crystal lattice.

References

1. Electric-field manipulation of magnetization in an insulating dilute ferromagnet through piezoelectromagnetic coupling. Communications Materials (2025).
2. Origin of ferromagnetism in Cu-doped ZnO. Scientific Reports (2019).
3. A room-temperature magnetic semiconductor from a ferromagnetic metallic glass. Nature Communications (2016).
4. Structural, optical, and magnetic studies of manganese-doped zinc oxide hierarchical microspheres by self-assembly of nanoparticles. Discover Nano (2012).
5. The Effect of Co Incorporation into ZnO Nanoparticles. Advances in Materials Physics and Chemistry (2013).