We investigate theoretically the effect of nearby As (arsenic) vacancies on the magnetic properties of substitutional Mn (manganese) impurities on the GaAs (110) surface, using a microscopic tight-binding model which captures the salient features of the electronic structure of both types of defects in GaAs. The calculations show that the binding energy of the Mn-acceptor is essentially unaffected by the presence of a neutral As vacancy, even at the shortest possible VAs--Mn separation. On the other hand, in contrast to a simple tip-induced-band-bending theory and in agreement with experiment, for a positively charged As vacancy the Mn-acceptor binding energy is significantly reduced as the As vacancy is brought closer to the Mn impurity. For two Mn impurities aligned ferromagnetically, we find that nearby charged As vacancies enhance the energy level splitting of the associated coupled acceptor levels, leading to an increase of the effective exchange interaction. Neutral vacancies leave the exchange splitting unchanged. Since it is experimentally possible to switch reversibly between the two charge states of the vacancy, such a local electric manipulation of the magnetic dopants could result in an efficient real-time control of their exchange interaction.

Technology where a solitary dopant acts as the active component of an opto-electronic device is an emerging  field known as solotronics, and bears the promise to revolutionize the way in which information is stored, processed and transmitted. Magnetic doped semiconductors and in particular (Ga, Mn)As, the archetype of dilute magnetic semiconductors, and topological insulators (TIs), a new phase of quantum matter with unconventional characteristics, are two classes of quantum materials that have the potential to advance spin-electronics technology. The quest to understand and control, at the atomic level, how a few magnetic atoms precisely positioned in a complex environment respond to external stimuli, is the red thread that connects these two quantum materials in the research presented here.

The goal of the thesis is in part to elucidate the properties of transition metal (TM) impurities near the surface of GaAs semiconductors with focus on their response to local magnetic and electric fields, as well as to investigate the real-time dynamics of their localized spins. Our theoretical analysis, based on density functional theory (DFT) and using tight-binding (TB) models, addresses the mid-gap electronic structure, the local density of states (LDOS) and the magnetic anisotropy energy of individual Mn and Fe impurities near the (110) surface of GaAs. We investigate the effect of a magnetic field on the Mn acceptor LDOS measured in cross-sectional scanning tunneling microscopy, and provide an explanation of why the experimental LDOS images depend weakly on the field direction despite the strongly anisotropic nature of the Mn acceptor wavefunction. We also investigate the effects of a local electrostatic field generated by nearby charged As vacancies, on individual and pairs of ferromagnetically coupled magnetic dopants near the surface of GaAs, providing a means to control electrically the exchange interaction of Mn pairs. Finally, using the mixed quantum-classical scheme for spin dynamics, we calculate explicitly the time evolution of the Mn spin and its bound acceptor, and analyze the dynamic interaction between pairs of ferromagnetically coupled magnetic impurities in a nanoscaled semiconductor.

The second part of the thesis deals with the theoretical investigation of a single substitutional Mn impurity and its associated acceptor state on the (111) surface of Bi₂Se₃ TI, using an approach that combines DFT and TB calculations. Our analysis clarifies the crucial role played by the spatial overlap and the quasi-resonant coupling between the Mn-acceptor and the topological surface states inside the Bi₂Se₃ band gap, in the opening of a gap at the Dirac point. Strong electronic correlations are also found to contribute significantly to the mechanism leading to the gap, since they control the hybridization between the p orbitals of nearest-neighbor Se atoms and the acceptor spin-polarization. Our results explain the effects of inversion-symmetry and time-reversal symmetry breaking on the electronic states in the vicinity of the Dirac point, and contribute to clarifying the origin of surface-ferromagnetism in TIs. The promising potential of magnetic-doped TIs accentuates the importance of our contribution to the understanding of the interplay between magnetic order and topological protected surface states.

Combining density functional theory calculations and microscopic tight-binding models, we investigate theoretically theelectronic and magnetic properties of individual substitutional transition-metal impurities (Mn and Fe) positioned in the vicinity of the (110) surface of GaAs. For the case of the [Mn2+](0) plus acceptor-hole (h) complex, the results of a tight-binding model including explicitly the impurity d electrons are in good agreement with approaches that treat the spin ofthe impurity as an effective classical vector. For the case of Fe, where both the neutral isoelectronic [Fe3+](0) and the ionized [Fe2+](-)states are relevant to address scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) experiments, the inclusion of d orbitals is essential. We find that the in-gap electronic structure of Fe impurities is significantly modified by surface effects. For the neutral acceptor state [Fe2+, h](0), the magnetic-anisotropy dependence on the impurity sublayer resembles the case of [Mn2+, h](0). In contrast, for [Fe3+](0) electronic configuration the magnetic anisotropy behaves differently and it is considerably smaller. For this state we predict that it is possible to manipulate the Fe moment, e. g., by an external magnetic field, with detectable consequences in the local density of states probed by STM.

We investigate the properties of a single substitutional Mn impurity and its associated acceptor state on the (111) surface of Bi$_2$Se$_3$ topological insulator. Combining \textit{ab initio} calculations with microscopic tight-binding modeling, we identify the effects of inversion-symmetry and time-reversal-symmetry breaking on the electronic states in the vicinity of the Dirac point. In agreement with experiments, we find evidence that the Mn ion is in ${+2}$ valence state and introduces an acceptor in the bulk band gap. The Mn-acceptor has predominantly $p$--character, and is localized mainly around the Mn impurity and its nearest-neighbor Se atoms. Its electronic structure and spin-polarization are determined by the hybridization between the Mn $d$--levels and the $p$--levels of surrounding Se atoms, which is strongly affected by electronic correlations at the Mn site. The opening of the gap at the Dirac point depends crucially on the quasi-resonant coupling and the strong real-space overlap between the spin-chiral surface states and the mid-gap spin-polarized Mn-acceptor states.

We present results of tight-binding spin-dynamics simulations of individual and pairs of substitutionalMn impurities in GaAs. Our approach is based on the mixed quantum-classical schemefor spin dynamics, with coupled equations of motions for the quantum subsystem, representing thehost, and the localized spins of magnetic dopants, which are treated classically. In the case ofa single Mn impurity, we calculate explicitly the time evolution of the Mn spin and the spins ofnearest-neighbors As atoms, where the acceptor (hole) state introduced by the Mn dopant resides.We relate the characteristic frequencies in the dynamical spectra to the two dominant energy scalesof the system, namely the spin-orbit interaction strength and the value of the p-d exchange couplingbetween the impurity spin and the host carriers. For a pair of Mn impurities, we find signaturesof the indirect (carrier-mediated) exchange interaction in the time evolution of the impurity spins.Finally, we examine temporal correlations between the two Mn spins and their dependence on theexchange coupling and spin-orbit interaction strength, as well as on the initial spin-configuration andseparation between the impurities. Our results provide insight into the dynamic interaction betweenlocalized magnetic impurities in a nano-scaled magnetic-semiconductor sample, in the extremelydilute(solotronics) regime.

Recently, remarkable progress has been achieved in describing electronic and magnetic properties of individual dopants in semiconductors, both experimentally [1] and theoretically [2, 3], offering exciting prospects for applications in future electronic devices. In view of potential novel applications, which involve communication between individual magnetic dopants, mediated by the electronic carriers of the host, the focus of this research field has been shifting towards fundamental understanding and control of spin dynamics of these atomic-scale magnetic centers. Importantly, the development of time-resolved spectroscopic techniques has opened up the possibility to probe the dynamics of single spin impurities experimentally [4]. These advances pose new challenges for theory, calling for a fully microscopic time-dependent description of spin dynamics of individual impurities in the solid states environment.We present results of theoretical investigations of real-time spin dynamics of individual and pairs of transition metal (Mn) impurities in GaAs. Our approach combines the microscopic tight-binding description of substitutional dopants in semicondutors [3] with the time-dependent scheme for simulations of spin dynamics [5], based on the numerical integration of equations of motion for the coupled system of the itinerant electronic degrees of freedom of the host and the localized impurity spins. We study the spin dynamics of impurities in finite clusters containing up to hundred atoms, over time scales of a few hundred femtoseconds. In particular, we calculate explicitly the time-evolution of the impurity spins and electrons of the host upon weak external perturbations. From the Fourier spectra of the time-dependent spin trajectories, we identify the energy scales associated with intrinsic interactions of the system, namely the spin-orbit interaction and the exchange interaction between the impurity spins and the spins of the nearest-neighbor atoms of the host. Furthermore, we investigate the effective dynamical coupling between the spins of two spatially separated Mn impurities, mediated by the host carriers. We find signatures of ferromagnetic coupling between the impurities in the time-evolution of their spins. Finally, we propose a scheme for investigating the spin relaxation of Mn dopants in GaAs, by extending the time-dependent approach for spin dynamics in an isolated conservative system to the case of an open system, with dephasing mechanisms included as an effective interaction between the system and an external bath [5].

Using a microscopic finite-cluster tight-binding model, we investigate the trend of the magnetic anisotropy energy as a function of the cluster size for an individual Mn impurity positioned in the vicinity of the (1 1 0) GaAs surface. We present results of calculations for large cluster sizes containing approximately 10⁴ atoms, which have not been investigated so far. Our calculations demonstrate that the anisotropy energy of a Mn dopant in bulk GaAs, found to be non-zero in previous tight-binding calculations, is purely a finite size effect that vanishes with inverse cluster size. In contrast to this, we find that the splitting of the three in-gap Mn acceptor energy levels converges to a finite value in the limit of the infinite cluster size. For a Mn in bulk GaAs this feature is related to the nature of the mean-field treatment of the coupling between the impurity and its nearest neighbor atoms. We also calculate the trend of the anisotropy energy in the sublayers as the Mn dopant is moved away from the surface towards the center of the cluster. Here the use of large cluster sizes allows us to position the impurity in deeper sublayers below the surface, compared to previous calculations. In particular, we show that the anisotropy energy increases up to the fifth sublayer and then decreases as the impurity is moved further away from the surface, approaching its bulk value. The present study provides important insights for experimental control and manipulation of the electronic and magnetic properties of individual Mn dopants at the semiconductor surface by means of advanced scanning tunneling microscopy techniques.

We investigate the effect of an external magnetic field on the physical properties of the acceptor hole statesassociated with single Mn acceptors placed near the (110) surface of GaAs. Cross-sectional scanning tunnelingmicroscopy images of the acceptor local density of states (LDOS) show that the strongly anisotropic hole wavefunction is not significantly affected by a magnetic field up to 6 T. These experimental results are supported bytheoretical calculations based on a tight-binding model of Mn acceptors in GaAs. For Mn acceptors on the (110)surface and the subsurfaces immediately underneath, we find that an applied magnetic field modifies significantlythe magnetic anisotropy landscape. However, the acceptor hole wave function is strongly localized around theMn and the LDOS is quite independent of the direction of the Mn magnetic moment. On the other hand, for Mnacceptors placed on deeper layers below the surface, the acceptor hole wave function is more delocalized andthe corresponding LDOS is much more sensitive on the direction of the Mn magnetic moment. However, themagnetic anisotropy energy for these magnetic impurities is large (up to 15 meV), and a magnetic field of 10 Tcan hardly change the landscape and rotate the direction of the Mn magnetic moment away from its easy axis.We predict that substantially larger magnetic fields are required to observe a significant field dependence of thetunneling current for impurities located several layers below the GaAs surface.

The study of the spin of individual transition-metal dopants in a semiconductor host is an emergent field known as magnetic solotronics, bearing exciting prospects for novel spintronics devices at the atomic scale. Advances in different STM based techniques allowed experimentalists to investigate substitutional dopants at a semiconductor surface with unprecedented accuracy and degree of details [1]. Theoretical studies based both on microscopic tight-binding (TB) models and DFT techniques have contributed in elucidating the experimental findings. In particular, for the case of Mn dopants on the (110) GaAs surface, TB models [2] have provided a quantitative description of the properties of the associated acceptor states. Most of these TB calculations ignore dealing explicitly with the Mn d-levels and treat the associated magnetic moment as a classical vector. However recent STM experiments [3] involving other TM impurities, such as Fe, reveal topographic features that might be related to electronic transitions within the d-level shell of the dopant. In this work we have included explicitly the d levels in the Hamiltonian. The parameters of the model have been extracted from DFT calculations. We have investigated the role that d levels play on the properties of the acceptor states of the doped GaAs(110) surface, and analyzed their implications for STM spectroscopy.