Substitutional Co dopant on the GaAs(110) surface: A first principles study

Using the first principles ground state method, the electronic properties of single Co dopant replacing one Ga atom on the GaAs(110) surface are studied. Our calculated local density of states (LDOS) at Co site presents several distinct peaks above the valence band maximum (VBM), and this agrees with recent experiments. Moreover, the calculated STM images at bias voltages of 2 eV and −2 eV also agree with experiments. We discussed the origin of Co impurity induced distinct peaks, which can be characterized with the hybridization between Co d orbitals and p-like orbitals of surface As and Ga atoms.