A First-Principles Study of the Structural, Magnetic, Optical Properties and Doping Effect in Chromium Arsenide

Pristine and doped chromium arsenide (CrAs) in six different crystal structures is systematically studied to investigate the structural, magnetic, and optical properties for real applications by first-principles calculations. First, it is found that the ground-state structure is an orthorhombic MnP-type structure with antiferromagnetic spin order. The rocksalt structure is a low-energy metastable phase and a ferromagnetic metal with high spin polarization at the Fermi level. Second, the NiAs structure and MnP structure have a higher absorption coefficient than other structures in the infrared region and ultraviolet region, respectively. In the visible region, the wurtzite and zincblende structures are more transparent than other structures. At last, the substitution of Cr by Ti and the substitution of As by Te can lead to a phase transition in ground-state structure and ground-state magnetic order, respectively. These results can promote the application of the CrAs system into spintronics and optoelectronics.