Fe-Vacancy-Induced Ferromagnetism in Tetragonal FeSe Thin Films

Motivated by recent experiments, we investigate structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of tetragonal FeSe with Fe vacancies using the state-of-the-art first-principles method. We show that Fe vacancies tend to stay in the same one of the two sublattices and thus induce ferromagnetism in the ground-state phase. Our calculated net moment is in good agreement with the experimental data available. Therefore, the ferromagnetism observed in tetragonal FeSe thin films is explained. It could be made controllable soon for spintronic applications.