Total-energy electronic-structure calculations were performed which were based
upon density-functional theory and clarified the magnetism of Gd-doped GaN. It
was found that Ga vacancies with a magnetic moment of 3μB, formed upon Gddoping,
interacted ferromagnetically with each other and thus caused gigantic
magnetic moments per Gd atom. The detailed analyses indicated an intrinsic
ferromagnetism due to cation vacancies, rather than magnetic dopants, in nitride
semiconductors.
Intrinsic Ferromagnetism Due to Cation Vacancies in Gd-Doped GaN: First-
Principles Calculations. Y.Gohda, A.Oshiyama: Physical Review B, 2008, 78[16],
161201