Disorder effects in diluted magnetic semiconductors

Abstract

In recent years, disorder has been shown to be crucial for the understanding of diluted magnetic semiconductors. Effects of disorder in these materials are reviewed with the emphasis on theoretical works. The types and spatial distribution of defects are discussed. The effect of disorder on the intimately related transport and magnetic properties are considered from the viewpoint of both the band picture and the isolated-impurity approach. Finally, the derivation and properties of spin-only models are reviewed.