Magnetoresistance and magnetic properties of the double perovskites

The magnetic double perovskite materials of composition A(2)BB'O-6 with A an alkaline earth ion and B and B' a magnetic and non-magnetic transition metal or lanthanide ion, respectively, have attracted considerable attention due to their interesting magnetic properties ranging from antiferromagnetism to geometrically frustrated spin systems and ferromagnetism. With respect to application in spin electronics, the ferromagnetic double perovskites with BB' = CrW, CrRe, FeMo, or FeRe and A = Ca, Ba, Sr are highly interesting due to their in most cases high Curie temperatures well above room temperature and their half-metallic behavior. Here, we summarize the structural, magnetotransport, magnetic, and optical properties of the ferromagnetic double perovskites and discuss the underlying physics. In particular, we discuss the impact of steric effects resulting in a distorted perovskite structure, doping effects obtained by a partial replacing of the divalent alkaline earth ions on the A site by a trivalent lanthanide as well as B/B' cationic disorder on the Curie temperature T-C, the saturation magnetization and the magnetotransport properties. Our results support the presence of a kinetic energy driven mechanism in the ferromagnetic double perovskites, where ferromagnetism is stabilized by a hybridization of states of the non-magnetic B'-site positioned in between the high spin B-sites.