Studies of Cr-doped III-V nitrides, dilute magnetic alloys in the zincblende crystal structure, are presented. The objective of the work is to investigate half-metallicity in Al 0.75Cr 0.25N, Ga 0.75Cr 0.25N, and In 0.75Cr 0.25N for their possible application in spin-based electronic devices. The calculated spin-polarized band structures, electronic properties, and magnetic properties of these compounds reveal that Al 0.75Cr 0.25N and Ga 0.75Cr 0.25N are half-metallic dilute magnetic semiconductors while In 0.75Cr 0.25N is metallic in nature. The present theoretical predictions provide evidence that some Cr-doped III-V nitrides can be used in spintronics devices. © 2011 TMS.
