Seminarium Międzynarodowego Laboratorium Silnych Pól Magnetycznych i Niskich Temperatur PAN

Turning semiconductor nitrides into spintronic materials

prof. Alberta Bonanni

Institut für Halbleiter- und Festkörperphysik, Johannes Kepler University, Linz, Austria

Due to their unique photonic properties, gallium nitride (GaN) and related compounds have already raised to the position of technologically most significant semiconductors next to Silicon. The addition of magnetic functionalities to these materials systems is expected to open striking views in both fundamental and application-oriented research. I will review our recent work on magnetic nitrides and summarize how - by exploiting in particular synchrotron-radiation and microscopy techniques - we have unraveled a number of non-anticipated features of these systems, like the nature of superexchange ferromagnetic interactions and the self-aggregation of magnetic cations and impurity complexes driven by fabrication parameters and co-doping.