Stability, Electronic and Magnetic properties of magnetically doped topological insulators Bi2Se3, Bi2Te3 and Sb2Te3

Magnetic interaction with the gapless surface states in topological insulator (TI) has been predicted to give rise to a few exotic quantum phenomena. However, the effective magnetic doping of TI is still challenging in experiment. Using first-principles calculations, the magnetic doping properties (V, Cr, Mn and Fe) in three strong TIs (Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$, Bi${}_2$Te${}_3$ and Sb${}_2$Te${}_3$) are investigated. We find that for all three TIs the cation-site substitutional doping is most energetically favorable with anion-rich environment as the optimal growth condition. Further our results show that under the nominal doping concentration of 4%, Cr and Fe doped Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$, Bi${}_2$Te${}_3$, and Cr doped Sb${}_2$Te${}_3$ remain as insulator, while all TIs doped with V, Mn and Fe doped Sb${}_2$Te${}_3$ become metal. We also show that the magnetic interaction of Cr doped Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$ tends to be ferromagnetic, while Fe doped Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$ is likely to be antiferromagnetic. Finally, we estimate the magnetic coupling and the Curie temperature for the promising ferromagnetic insulator (Cr doped Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$) by Monte Carlo simulation. These findings may provide important guidance for the magnetism incorporation in TIs experimentally.