Cr doped III-V nitrides: potential candidates for spintronics

Studies of Cr-doped III-V nitrides, dilute magnetic alloys, in the zinc-blende crystal structure are presented. The objective of the work is to investigate half-metallicity in Al(0.75)Cr(0.25)N, Ga(0.75)Cr(0.25)N and In(0.75)Cr(0.25)N for their possible application in the spin based electronic devices. The calculated spin polarized band structures, electronic properties and magnetic properties of these compounds reveal that Al0.75Cr0.25N and Ga0.75Cr0.25N are half-metallic dilute magnetic semiconductors while In0.75Cr0.25N is metallic in nature. The present theoretical predictions provide evidence that some Cr doped III-V nitrides can be used in spintronics devices.