Electronic structure of the dilute magnetic semiconductor Zn0.90Mn0.10S obtained by soft x-ray spectroscopy and first-principles calculations

Soft x-ray emission and absorption spectra of the Mn L2,3-edge were obtained from the diluted magnetic semiconductor Zn0.90Mn0.10S, and interpreted with the aid of first-principles computations of the densities of states. The calculations reveal that the Mn d states near the Fermi energy show interesting spin polarization, and are strongly hybridized with the neighboring S atoms, indicative of the sp-d hybridization typical of dilute magnetic semiconductors. Resonant inelastic x-ray measurements reveal a 3-eV inelastic energy loss, which is interpreted as a transition from the Mn valence-band d states to a spin-flip multiplet of the 3d 5 ground-state configuration, while a 6-eV loss is attributed to observed charge-transfer effects caused by hybridization between the S p states and the occupied Mn d states located a few eV below the Fermi energy.