Study on spin-splitting phenomena in the band structure of GdN

An exceptional kind of spin splitting in the band structure of AlN/GdN/AlN double heterostructures has been studied by employing temperature-dependent spectroscopy. This spin splitting can be attributed to both the band-gap shrink and the difference between minority and majority band energies in GdN below the Curie point; these results have been established by evaluating the optical band gaps at the X-point. The temperature-dependent magnetization measurements that provide direct evidence of the magnetic ordering below 32 K and it is described by long-range spin correlation in GdN. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4727903]