Substrate-induced magnetism in BN layer: A first-principles study

We predict an accepted configuration of hexagonal boron nitride (BN) layer on Co(111) surface by first-principles calculations. The calculated adsorption energy of this configuration is around -0.51 eV with a corrugation close to 0.1 angstrom. Polarized spin states are induced in BN layer due to the hybridization of the BN layer with the substrate Co, which gives rise to a magnetic moment of 0.2 mu B on each pair of BN. The finding of high spin polarization on the absorbed BN layer ensures a high degree of passage of the preferred spin and is important in the development of nanoscale devices for spintronics applications. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.