Studying the electronic structure and magnetic properties of novel materials has been a driving force for new technologies and fundamental understanding of nature. In this talk, I will present our studies in the emerging technology of semiconductor spintronics. Using our recently developed first principles methods, we have shown that the electronic structure of ferromagnet-semiconductor interface induces intriguing, newly discovered behavior of spin dependent tunneling electrons. These effects can introduce a new class of spintronic devices and proved to be extremely valuable in interpreting recent experimental measurements. I will also introduce the Quasiparticle self-consistent GW electronic structure method (G=Green’s function, W=screened Coulomb interaction). This method provides exciting new capabilities for first principles prediction of material parameters and fundamental understanding of their electronic structure. I will demonstrate this on several examples related to semiconductor spintronics. Future plans that involve first-principles and semiempirical approaches for the study of electronic and magnetic properties at the nanoscale will be discussed.
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA