Electronic Structure and Magnetic Properties of Zinc-Blende Co-Doped GaN with N Vacancies

The electronic structure and magnetic properties of zinc-blende structure of (Ga,Co)N phase with N vacancy defects are investigated using the Korringa–Kohn–Rostoker (KKR) method combined with coherent potential approximation (CPA). The results show that (Ga,Co)N phase is ferromagnetically polarized with an enhancement of the polarization and that the electronic structure can be modified simply by changing the concentration of N vacancies. Moreover, the (Ga,Co)N with high density of N vacancies shows a drastic increase of the magnetic moment of cobalt in the parent GaN compound, to reach a maximum value of 1.7 μB/Co at 8 at.%, which is in good agreement with the experimental values reported in the literature.