Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Measurement of Coherence Decay in GaMnAs Using Femtosecond Four-wave Mixing
Published on: December 3, 2013
Microscopic analysis of the valence band and impurity band theories of (Ga,Mn)As
J Mašek1, F Máca, J Kudrnovský
1Institute of Physics ASCR, v.v.i., Na Slovance 2, 182 21 Praha 8, Czech Republic.
Abstract:
We analyze microscopically the valence and impurity band models of ferromagnetic (Ga,Mn)As. We find that the tight-binding Anderson approach with conventional parametrization and the full potential local-density approximation+U calculations give a very similar band structure whose microscopic spectral character is consistent with the physical premise of the k·p kinetic-exchange model. On the other hand, the various models with a band structure comprising an impurity band detached from the valence band assume mutually incompatible microscopic spectral character. By adapting the tight-binding Anderson calculations individually to each of the impurity band pictures in the single Mn impurity limit and then by exploring the entire doping range, we find that a detached impurity band does not persist in any of these models in ferromagnetic (Ga,Mn)As.
Related Concept Videos
Band Theory
The energy difference between these bands is known as the band gap.
Conductor, Semiconductor,...
Valence Bond Theory
Energy Bands in Solids
Band Formation:
When atoms are brought close together, as in a solid, these discrete energy levels begin to split due to the overlap of electron orbitals from adjacent atoms. This split occurs because of the Pauli exclusion principle, which states that no two...
Semiconductors
Metals such as copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), or lead (Pb) have low resistivity and feature conduction bands that are either not fully occupied or overlap with the valence band, making a bandgap non-existent. This allows electrons in the highest energy levels of the valence band to easily transition to the conduction band upon gaining...

