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The interplay between covalency and magnetism is non-trivial and can be harnessed for designing new functional magnetic materials. Based on a survey using density functional calculations, we show that $TM\unicode{x2013}O$ bond covalency can increase the total magnetic moment of spinel compounds of $TMFe_2O_4$ composition ($TM = V-Ni, Nb-Pd$) which are isomorphic to the much-researched magnetite. Accordingly, $PdFe_2O_4$ was found to exhibit the highest magnetic moment of 7.809 ${\mu}_B$ per formula unit which is approximately twice that of $Fe_3O_4$ with $T_c$ predicted to be well above ambient. We further propose a practical method for synthesising $PdFe_2O_4$., Comment: 5 pages, three figures. 2 tables

Using density functional theory, we calculated the formation energy of native point defects (vacancies, interstitials and antisites) in MAX phase $Ti_2GeC$ and $Ti_3GeC_2$ compounds. Ge vacancy with formation energy of 2.87 eV was the most stable defect in $Ti_2GeC$ while C vacancy with formation energy of 2.47 eV was the most stable defect in $Ti_3GeC_2$. Ge vacancies, in particular, were found to be strong phonon scattering centres that reduce the lattice contribution to thermal conductivity in $Ti_2GeC$. In both compounds, the reported high thermal and electrical conductivity is attributed to the electronic contribution that originates from the high density of states at the Fermi level., Comment: 7 Pages, 4 Figures, 2 Tables

We have systematically investigated the $Na_xCoO_2$ system doped with Cu, Y, Sn, W, Au and Bi for $x$ = 0:5; 0:75 and 1.00 using density functional theory. Sn, W, and Bi always substitute a Co while Au always substitutes a Na regardless of Na concentration. However, for Cu and Y, the substitution site depends on Na concentration. When compared to the available experimental data, we find that thermoelectric performance is enhanced when the dopants substitute a Na site. In this case, surprisingly, resistivity decreases despite the reduced hole concentration caused by carrier recombination. We propose improved carrier mobility to be the cause of observed reduced resistivity., Comment: 5 Pages, 4 Figures

$Na_xCoO_2$ that comprises of alternating Na and $CoO_2$ layers has exotic magnetic and thermoelectric properties that could favorably be manipulated by adding dopants or varying Na concentration. In this work, we investigated the structural and electronic properties of Sr and Sb doped $Na_xCoO_2$ ($x$ = 0.50; 0.625; 0.75 and 0.875) through comprehensive density functional calculations. We found that Sr dopants always occupy a site in the Na layer while Sb dopants always substitute a Co ion in the host lattice regardless of Na concentration. This conclusion withstood when either generalized gradient approximation (GGA) or GGA+$U$ method was used. By residing on the Na layer, Sr dopants create charge and mass inertia against the liquid like Na layer, therefore, improving the crystallinity and decreasing the electrical resistivity through better carrier mobility. On the other hand, by substituting Co ions, Sb dopants reduce the electrical conductivity and therefore decrease the Seebeck coefficient., Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures

Through comprehensive density functional calculations, the crystallographic, magnetic and electronic properties of $Na_xCoO_2$ ($x$ = 1, 0.875, 0.75, 0.625 and 0.50) were investigated. We found that all Na ions in $NaCoO_2$ and $Na_{0.875}CoO_2$ share the basal coordinates with O ions. However, as $x$ decreases, some of Na ions move within the basal plane in order to reduce the in-plane Na$-$Na electrostatic repulsion. Magnetically, there was strong tendency for type A antiferromagnetism in the $Na_{0.75}CoO_2$ system, while all other Na deficient systems had a weaker ferromagnetic tendency. The results on magnetism were in excellent agreement with the experiments., Comment: 4 Pages, 3 Figures, 1 Supplementary PDF

This review presents the recent progress in computational materials design, experimental realization, and control methods of spinodal nanodecomposition under three- and two-dimensional crystal-growth conditions in spintronic materials, such as magnetically doped semiconductors. The computational description of nanodecomposition, performed by combining first-principles calculations with kinetic Monte Carlo simulations, is discussed together with extensive electron microscopy, synchrotron radiation, scanning probe, and ion beam methods that have been employed to visualize binodal and spinodal nanodecomposition (chemical phase separation) as well as nanoprecipitation (crystallographic phase separation) in a range of semiconductor compounds with a concentration of transition metal (TM) impurities beyond the solubility limit. The role of growth conditions, co-doping by shallow impurities, kinetic barriers, and surface reactions in controlling the aggregation of magnetic cations is highlighted. According to theoretical simulations and experimental results the TM-rich regions appear either in the form of nanodots (the {\em dairiseki} phase) or nanocolumns (the {\em konbu} phase) buried in the host semiconductor. Particular attention is paid to Mn-doped group III arsenides and antimonides, TM-doped group III nitrides, Mn- and Fe-doped Ge, and Cr-doped group II chalcogenides, in which ferromagnetic features persisting up to above room temperature correlate with the presence of nanodecomposition and account for the application-relevant magneto-optical and magnetotransport properties of these compounds. Finally, it is pointed out that spinodal nanodecomposition can be viewed as a new class of bottom-up approach to nanofabrication., Comment: 72 pages, 79 figures

In order to realize super-high-critical temperature $(T_c)$ superconductors ($T_c$>1,000 K) based on general design rules for negative effective $U$ $(U_{eff})$ systems by controlling purely-electronic and attractive Fermion mechanisms, we perform computational materials design for the negative $U_{eff}$ system in hole-doped two-dimensional (2D) Delafossite CuAlO$_2$, AgAlO$_2$ and AuAlO$_2$ from ${\it ab\ initio}$ calculations. It is found that the large negative $U_{eff}$ in the hole-doped attractive Fermion systems for CuAlO$_2$ ($U_{eff}$ = -4.53 eV), AgAlO$_2$ ($U_{eff}$ = -4.88 eV), AuAlO$_2$ ($U_{eff}$ = -4.14 eV). These values are 10 times larger than that in hole-doped three-dimensional (3D) CuFeS$_2$ ($U_{eff}$ = -0.44 eV). For future calculations of the $T_c$ and phase diagram by quantum Monte Carlo simulations, we propose the negative $U_{eff}$ Hubbard model with the anti-bonding single $\pi$-band model for CuAlO$_2$, AgAlO$_2$ and AuAlO$_2$ by using the parameters obtained from ${\it ab\ initio}$ electronic structure calculations. The behavior of $T_c$ in the 2D Delafossite of CuAlO$_2$, AgAlO$_2$ and AuAlO$_2$ and 3D Chalcopyrite of CuFeS$_2$ shows the interesting chemical trend, ${\it i.e.,}$ $T_c$ increases exponentially in the weak coupling regime $|U_{eff}| < W$ ($\sim$ 2 eV) (where $W$ is the band width of Hubbard model) for the hole-doped CuFeS$_2$, and then $T_c$ goes through a maximum when $|U_{eff}| \sim W$ (2.8 eV, 3.5 eV) for the hole-doped AgAlO$_2$ and AuAlO$_2$, and finally $T_c$ decreases with increasing $|U_{eff}|$ in the strong coupling regime, where $|U_{eff}| > W$ (1.7 eV), for the hole-doped CuAlO$_2$. In this strong coupling regime, one can expect that $T_c$ = 1,000 $\sim$ 2,000 K by assuming the relation of the very strong coupling as $2\Delta / k_{\rm B}T_c$ = 50 $\sim$100 and the superconducting gap $\Delta \sim |U_{eff}|$ = 4.53 eV $\sim$ 50,000 K., Comment: 35 pages, 12 figures

In this work, we investigated the behaviour of Sb dopants in $Na_{x}CoO_{2}$ for Na concentrations of $x = 0.75, 0.875$ and $1.00$ by density functional theory. We chose $Na_{x}CoO_{2}$ with higher Na concentration of $x > 0.75$ because it has excessively higher thermo-power thus it is appealing for practical applications. The rationale for choosing Sb was its exceedingly higher atomic mass than all elements of the host crystal which enable Sb to rattle phonons considerably., Comment: 1st Kansai Nano-scale and Nanotechnology International Symposium

Electronic structures, exchange interaction mechanism between magnetic ions and Curie temperature of Vanadium - doped Nitrides (AlN, GaN, and InN) are studied within KKR-LSDA-CPA. It is found that the ferromagnetic super-exchange interaction mechanism is dominant at low concentrations of Vanadium, but the anti-ferromagnetic super-exchange interaction appears and reduces the stabilization of ferromagnetism at sufficiently high concentrations (x > 0.10), especially for Vanadium-doped AlN and Vanadium- doped GaN. The estimation of the Curie temperature within the mean field approximation shows the Curie temperature of Vanadium-doped Nitrides exceeding the room temperature with a few constituents of Vanadium., Comment: will be published in J. Elec. Microsc (2005)

The magnetic properties of dilute magnetic semiconductors (DMS) are calculated from first-principles by mapping the ab initio results on a classical Heisenberg model. It is found that the range of the exchange interaction in (Ga, Mn)N is very short ranged due to the exponential decay of the impurity wave function in the gap. Curie temperatures (Tc) of DMS are calculated by using the Monte Carlo method. It is found that the Tc values of (Ga, Mn)N are very low since, due to the short ranged interaction, percolation of the ferromagnetic coupling is difficult to achieve for small concentrations., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures

Based on ab initio calculations of Ga_{1-x}Mn_xN_yAs_{1-y} and Ga_{1-x}Mn_xC_yAs_{1-y}, we propose a new codoping method to enhance the Curie temperature T_c of diluted magnetic semiconductors. The solubility of Mn can be increased up to high concentration by the codoping of N or C to reduce the lattice and volume expansion caused by Mn doping. It is found that the impurity band of the majority spin is strongly broadened and pushed up into the higher energy region due to the strong p-d hybridization caused by the codoping, and the T_c becomes higher than the room temperature at x>0.06., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures

Particle-hole (p-h) mixing is a fundamental consequence of the existence of a pair condensate. We present direct experimental evidence for p-h mixing in the angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES) spectra in the superconducting state of Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_{8+\delta}. In addition to its pedagogical importance, this establishes unambiguously that the gap observed in ARPES is associated with superconductivity., Comment: 3 pages, revtex, 4 postscript figures

From a detailed study, including polarization dependence, of the normal state angle-resolved photoemission spectra for Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_8$, we find only one CuO$_2$ band related feature. All other spectral features can be ascribed either to umklapps from the superlattice or to ``shadow bands''. Even though the dispersion of the peaks looks like band theory, the lineshape is anomalously broad and no evidence is found for bilayer splitting. We argue that the ``dip feature'' in the spectrum below $T_c$ arises not from bilayer splitting, but rather from many body effects., Comment: 4 pages, revtex, 3 uuencoded postscript figures