Electronic and magnetic properties of pristine and transition metal doped ZnTe nanowires.

We have carried out density functional theory based calculations for understanding the structural, electronic and magnetic properties of pristine and transition metal (TM) doped ZnTe nanowires. Pristine ZnTe nanowires (NWs) turn out to be semiconducting in nature, with the band gap varying with the diameter of the NWs. In Mn-doped ZnTe NWs, the Mn atoms retain a magnetic moment of 5 μB each and couple anti-ferromagnetically. A half metallic ferromagnetic state, although energetically not favorable, is observed arising from a strong hybridization between the d-states of Mn atoms and p-states of Te atoms. Further studies of V- and Sc-doped ZnTe NWs reveal the systems to be anti-ferromagnetic.