(Ga,Mn)As-Based Magnetic Tunnel Junctions under Electric Field from First Principles

Abstract

Diluted magnetic semiconductors composed in magnetic tunnel junctions have potential applications in spintronics but the development has not been fast. The main difficulty is how to control the magnetism of diluted magnetic semiconductors. For our model semiconductor magnetic tunnel junctions, (Ga,Mn)As/GaAs/(Ga,Mn)As, we found that the magnetic coupling between the transition metal ions in each diluted magnetic semiconductor electrode of such semiconductor magnetic tunnel junctions can be switched from ferromagnetic to antiferromagnetic by the external electric field. The phenomenon suggest a possible avenue for the application of semiconductor magnetic tunnel junctions.