Magnetic ordering of dopants in diamond holds the prospect of exploiting diamond’s unique properties in the emerging field of spintronics. Several transition metal defects have been reported to order ferromagnetically in various semiconductors, however, low Curie temperatures and lack of other fundamental material properties have hindered practical implementation in room temperature spintronic applications. In this Thesis, we consider the energetic stability of 3d transition metal doped-diamond and its magnetic ordering properties at various lattice sites and charge states using ab initio Density Functional Theory methods. We find the majority of 3d transition metal impurities in diamond at any charge state to be energetically most stable at the divacancy site compared to substitutional or interstitial lattice sites, with the interstitial site being highly unstable (by ~8 - 10 eV compared to the divacancy site). At each lattice site and charge state, we find the formation energies of transition metals in the middle of the 3d series (Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni) to be considerably lower compared to those early or late in the series. The energetic stability of transition metal impurities across the 3d series is shown to be strongly dependent on the position of the Fermi level in the diamond band gap, with the formation energies at any lattice site being lower in p-type or ntype diamond compared to intrinsic diamond. Further, we show that incorporation of isolated transition metal impurities into diamond introduces spin polarised impurity bands into the diamond band gap, while maintaining its semiconducting nature, with band gaps in both the spin-up and spin-down channels. These impurity bands are shown to originate mainly from s, p-d hybridization between carbon sp 3 orbitals with the 3d orbitals of the transition metal. In addition, the 4p orbitals contribute significantly to hybridization for transition metal atoms at the substitutional site, but not at the divacancy site. In both cases, the spin polarisation and magnetic stabilization energies are critically dependent on the lattice site and charge state of the transition metal impurity. By allowing magnetic interactions between transition metal atoms, we find that ferromagnetic ordering is likely to be achieved in divacancy Cr+2, Mn+2, Mn+1 and Co0 as well as in substitutional Fe+2 and Fe+1, indicating that transition metal-doped diamond is likely to form a diluted magnetic semiconductor which may successfully be considered for room temperature spintronic applications. In addition, these charge states correspond to p-type diamond, except for divacancy Co0, suggesting that co-doping with shallow acceptors such as B ( will result in an increase of charge concentration, which is likely to enhance mediation of ferromagnetic spin coupling. The highest magnetic stabilization energy occurs in substitutional Fe+1 (33.3 meV), which, also exhibits half metallic ferromagnetic ordering at the Fermi level, with an induced magnetic moment of 1.0 μB per ion, thus suggesting that 100 % spin polarisation may be achieved in Fe-doped diamond. / Physics / D. Litt. et Phil. (Physics)

Le développement des dispositifs issus de l'électronique de spin nécessite de nouveaux matériaux qui permettent d'injecter de manière efficace le courant polarisé en spin dans des semiconducteurs. Parmi de nombreux matériaux utilisés comme injecteurs de spin, les semiconducteurs ferromagnétiques dilués (DMS), obtenus en dopant des semiconducteurs avec des impuretés magnétiques tels que Mn ou Co, sont considérés comme des candidats potentiels pour l'injection de spin. Ces matériaux dopés deviennent ferromagnétiques tout en conservant leurs propriétés semiconductrices. Par conséquent, ils présentent une similarité d'impédance électrique par rapport aux substrats semiconducteurs, ce qui rend efficace l'injection de courant polarisé en spin dans ces derniers. Dans ce contexte, l'objectif principal de cette thèse consiste à étudier la cinétique de croissance des semiconducteurs ferromagnétiques dilués GeMn. Nous cherchons à déterminer les paramètres clés de la croissance des couches de GeMn, à savoir la température du substrat, et la concentration en Mn. Pour la fabrication de dispositifs électroniques fonctionnels, le challenge crucial est d'obtenir des DMS ayant une température de Curie (TC) bien supérieure à la température ambiante. Nous nous sommes donc concentrés sur la cinétique de formation de la phase nanocolonnaire GeMn possédant une TC au-delà de 400 K. / The development of active spintronic devices requires new materials, which enable to efficiently inject spin-polarized currents into non-magnetic semiconductors. Among numerous materials that can be used as spin injectors, diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMS), obtained by doping standard semiconductors with magnetic impurities, such as Mn or Co, have emerged as potential candidates for spin injection. The materials become ferromagnetic while conserving their semiconducting properties. They exhibit therefore natural impedance match to host semiconductors and are expected to efficiently inject spin-polarized currents into semiconductors. In this context, the main objectives of this thesis work consist in studying the growth kinetics of GeMn-based diluted magnetic semiconductors. We aim at determining the main growth parameters, such as the substrate temperature and the Mn concentration, that govern the growth process of GeMn layers. Since for device applications it is crucial to obtain DMS exhibiting a Curie temperature (TC) well above room temperature, we have focused our attention to the kinetic formation of the GeMn nanocolumn phase, which exhibits a Curie temperature higher than 400 K.

O presente trabalho é um estudo sobre a importância da informação dos orbitais atômicos no cálculo de propriedades optoeletrônicas de heteroestruturas semicondutoras de baixa dimensionalidade. O trabalho é dividido em duas partes: na primeira parte, é estudada a simetria de reversão temporal no hamiltoniano k . p, analisando a preservação da informação de spin presente nos orbitais atômicos. O hamiltoniano obtido é inserido na equação de massa efetiva expandida para superredes. São calculadas estruturas de bandas de alguns poços quânticos de semicondutores III-V e grupo-IV. Compara-se o novo método com os tradicionais, e então são analisadas algumas grandezas que apresentam alteração significativa entre os métodos usados; A segunda parte é composta por um estudo detalhado do potencial de troca-correlação em semicondutores dopados. A matriz que descreve este potencial é escrita usando a distribuição de portadores presentes nos orbitais atômicos da rede cristalina, e os coeficientes desta matriz foram calculados usando quatro modelos para a correção de muitos corpos, baseadas nas aproximações LDA (Local density approximation) e LSDA (Local spin density approximation), com o objetivo de comparar as diversas parametrizações. Usando o método k . p tradicional, expandido para superredes, foram simulados sistemas δ-doped e hMni-δ-doped de Si, através de um cálculo autoconsistente baseado na equação de Poisson. A magnetização dos portadores é descrita por um modelo de campo médio. Foram analisados os perfis de potencial, estruturas de bandas, polarização de portadores e espectros de fotoluminescência para determinar as diferenças entre as aproximações utilizadas. / This work is a study about the atomic orbitals information importance in the calculation of optoelectronics properties of low dimensionality semiconductors. The work is divided in two parts. In the first one, a study of the time reversal symmetry of the k . p Hamiltonian is realized analyzing the preservation of the spin information present in the atomic orbitals. The obtained Hamiltonian is applied in the effective mass equation expanded to superlattices. Some calculations of quantum wells band structures are made using III-V and group-IV semiconductors, comparing the new method with the conventional ones to obtain an analysis of the difference of some physics properties. The second part is a detailed study of the exchangecorrelation potential in doped semiconductors. The matrix coefficients are calculated using the charge distribution of the crystalline lattice atomic orbitals, applied in some LDA (Local density approximation) and LSDA (Local spin density approximation) parameterizations to compare them. Using the conventional k . p method expanded to superlattices, Si δ-doped and hMni-δ-doped systems were calculated through a self consistent calculation based on Poissons equation. The carriers magnetization is described by an average field model. The potential profiles, band structures, carrier polarization and photoluminescence spectra were analyzed to obtain the difference between the approaches.

Cette thèse porte sur l'étude des ondes de spin dans des puits quantiques CdMnTe dopés n, par rotation Kerr résolue en temps (TRKR) et par mélange à quatre ondes (FWM). Nous avons étudié trois échantillons de haute mobilité et de caractéristiques différentes.La technique TRKR donne accès uniquement aux excitations de vecteur d'onde nul, dans notre cas l'onde spin-flip en q=0. Nous avons étudié l'anticroisement qui apparait entre l'onde spin-flip et l'excitation spin-flip des ions manganèse. Nous avons étudié la variation du gap, et donc de l'énergie de couplage, entre ces modes en fonction de la puissance d'excitation et du champ magnétique. En particulier nous avons étendu les mesures des modes mixtes à plus basse concentration en Mn (jusqu'à 0.07%) et contrairement à ce qui était attendu, nous avons trouvé que le régime de couplage fort persiste à cette concentration.Nous nous sommes ensuite intéressés à la détermination de la polarisation en spin ζ du gaz d'électrons bidimensionnel, qui peut être déduite de l'énergie de couplage entre les modes mixtes. Nous avons trouvé que la polarisation mesurée par cette méthode excède la polarisation théorique calculée en prenant en compte le renforcement de la susceptibilité par les effets à N corps. Nous avons également mesuré les temps de relaxation des électrons confinés dans le puits quantique, et nous avons montré l'influence de l'échauffement de l'échantillon par le laser sur le temps de relaxation de spin des électrons.Dans la deuxième partie de cette thèse, nous avons étudié par FWM l'amortissement et la dispersion des ondes de spin de vecteur d'onde non nul pour l'un de nos échantillons. Nous avons démontré qu'on peut effectivement générer les ondes de spin en excitation femtoseconde, et les détecter en FWM. Nous avons trouvé que leur dispersion est plus faible que celle observée dans les expériences de Raman. Cette faible dispersion pourrait être imputable à la forte densité d'excitation utilisée dans les expériences de FWM (typiquement trois à quatre ordres de grandeur supérieurs à celle du Raman), et/ou au fait que deux ondes de vecteur d'ondes q et –q, ayant des dispersions différentes, sont sondées simultanément en FWM. / This thesis focuses on the study of spin waves in n-doped CdMnTe quantum wells using respectively time-resolved Kerr rotation (TRKR) and four-wave mixing (FWM) techniques. We studied three high mobility samples with different characteristics.The TRKR technique gives access only to zero wave vector excitations, in our case the spin- flip wave q = 0 . We studied the anticrossing that appears between the spin -flip wave and the manganese spin -flip excitation. We studied the gap variation energy between these modes as function on the power excitation and the magnetic field. In particular, we have extended the measurements of mixed modes at lower Mn concentration (up 0.07 %) and contrary to what were expected; we found that the strong coupling regime persists at this concentration.We are then interested in determining the two dimensional electron gas spin polarization ζ, which can be deduced from the energy coupling between the mixed modes. We found that the measured polarization exceeds the theoretical polarization calculated taking into account the increased susceptibility by many-body effects. We also measured the electron spin relaxation time and we have shown that it is influenced by thermal effects inherent to optical pump-probe experiments on this time.In the second part of this thesis, we studied by FWM the damping and the dispersion of the non-zero wave vector spin waves for one of our samples. We have demonstrated that we can actually generate spin waves in femtosecond excitation and deted them by FWM. We found that the dispersion is lower than that observed in the Raman experiments. This low dispersion may be due to the strong excitation density used in the FWM experiments (typically three to four orders of magnitude higher than the Raman ones) and / or the fact that two waves of wave vector q and - q, having different dispersions are simultaneously probed in FWM .

Theoretical studies of point defect interactions and structural stability of compounds have been performed using density functional theory. The defect-related properties, such as activation energy of diffusion, electronic and magnetic structure of selected materials have been studied. The major part of the present work is devoted to a very important material for semiconductor industry, GaAs. The formation energies of intrinsic point defects and the solution energies of 3d transitions in GaAs have been calculated from first principles. Based on the calculated energies, we analysed the site preference of defects in the crystal. The tendency of defects to form clusters has been investigated for the intrinsic defects as well as for impurities in GaAs. The magnetic moment of 3d impurities has been calculated as a function of the chemical environment. The possibility of increasing the Curie temperature in (Ga,Mn)As by co-doping it with Cr impurities has been examined on the basis of calculated total energy difference between the disordered local moment and the ferromagnetically ordered spin configurations. We found that, in order to reach the highest critical temperature, GaAs should be separately doped with either Cr or Mn impurities. Also, we have shown that diffusion barrier of interstitial Mn depends on the charge state of this impurity in (Ga, Mn)As. The formation of defect complexes between interstitial and substitutional Mn atoms, and their influence on the value of diffusion barrier for interstitial Mn, has been studied. The pair interactions energies between interstitial oxygen atoms in hcp Zr, Hf and Ti have been calculated using first principles. Based on the calculated energies, the oxygen ordering structures in IVB transition metal solid solutions have been explained. A prediction of nitrogen ordering in Hf-N solid solution has been made. The thermodynamic description of intermetallic compounds in the Zr-Sn binary system has been obtained. The conclusion has been made that Zr substitution on the Sn sites takes place in the Zr4Sn phase, which accounts for the unusual stoichiometry of this Cr3Si structure type compound. The influence of pressure on the phase stability in the Fe-Si system has been investigated. We have found instability of the hcp Fe0.9Si0.1 random alloy with respect to the decomposition onto the Si-poor hcp Fe alloy and the B2 FeSi under high pressure. The tendency of this decomposition becomes stronger with increasing the applied pressure. / QC 20100624

The topic of this Thesis is magnetization dynamics on atomic length scales. A computational scheme, Atomistic Spin Dynamics, based on density functional theory, the adiabatic approximation and the atomic moment approximation is presented. Simulations are performed for chemically disordered systems, antiferromagnets and ferrimagnets and also systems with reduced dimensionality The autocorrelation function of the archetypical spin glass alloy CuMn is sampled in simulations following a quenching protocol. The aging regime can be clearly identified and the dependence of the relaxation on the damping parameter is investigated. The time evolution of pair correlation and autocorrelation functions has been studied in simulations of the dilute magnetic semiconductor GaMnAs. The dynamics reveal a substantial short ranged magnetic order even at temperatures at or above the ordering temperature. The dynamics for different concentrations of As antisites are discussed. Antiferromagnets offer opportunities for ultrafast switching, this is studied in simulations of an artificial antiferromagnet. For the right conditions, the cooperative effect of applied field torque and and the torque from the other sublattice enables very fast switching. The dynamics of bcc Fe precessing in a strong uniaxial anisotropy are investigated. It is demonstrated that the magnetization can shrink substantially due to a spin wave instability. The dynamics of a two-component model ferrimagnet at finite temperature are investigated. At temperatures where the magnetic system is close to the magnetic and angular momentum compensations points of the ferrimagnet, the relaxation in a uniaxial easy exis anisotropy resembles results in recent experiments on ferrimagnetic resonance. The different cases of uniaxial or colossal magnetic anisotropy in nanowires at different temperatures are compared. The magnon softening in a ferromagnetic monolayer is investigated, giving results that compare well with recent experiments. The effect of lattice relaxation can be treated in first principles calculations. Subsequent simulations captures the softening of magnons caused by reduced dimensionality and temperature. / Felaktigt tryckt som Digital Comprehensive Summaries of Uppsala Dissertations from the Faculty of Science and Technology 706

Transition metal and related compounds have been extensively studied over the past several decades. These investigations revealed a wide range of behavior, encompassing colossal magnetoresistance (CMR), high-TC superconductivity, and magnetic semiconductivity, all of which continue to present fundamental challenges to the understanding of such phenomena. There is, however, a close correlation between such characteristics and the appearance of magnetic order. This correlation underlies the present study, which focuses on the magnetic and transport behavior of various Manganese (Mn), Iron (Fe) and Cobalt (Co) containing materials, with particular emphasis on the nature of the magnetic order they display and the critical exponents that characterize the accompanying phase transition. The magnetic and transport properties of two specific systems will be covered: first various doped manganites from the series (La,Pr)1-x(Ca,Ba)xMnO3, and second the magnetic semiconductors Fe0.8Co0.2Si and Ga0.98Mn0.02As. In the manganites, the influence of doping on; (i) the evolution of the metal-insulator transition (MIT) with composition; (ii) the universality class of the magnetic critical behavior associated with the paramagnetic to ferromagnetic transition, which occurs in the vicinity of a MIT with which CMR is associated; (iii) the mechanisms underlying ferromagnetism across the MIT; (iv) the correlation between the appearance of a Griffiths-like phase and CMR, and (v) the origin of Griffiths-like phase have been investigated. Four different systems have been studied: La1-xCaxMnO3 (0.18 ≤ x ≤ 0.27), La1-xBaxMnO3 (x ≤ 0.33), (La1-yPry)0.7Ca0.3Mn16/18O3 (y ≤ 0.85), and Pr1-xCaxMnO3 (x = 0.27, 0.29). In Fe0.8Co0.2Si and Ga0.98Mn0.02As, the scaling between magnetization and conductivity has been the subject of ongoing debate. In bulk Fe0.8Co0.2Si, a novel scaling between the anomalous Hall effect (AHE) and the magnetization enables the anomalous Hall coefficient to be accurately determined. In turn, this enables the universality class for the transition to ferromagnetism to be established independently from the anomalous Hall conductivity. In an epitaxial (metallic) Ga0.98Mn0.02As microstructure, the magnetization has been indirectly determined from the AHE. Subsequent analysis yields magnetic critical exponents consistent with the Mean-Field model, direct support for which had previously been lacking.

Transition metal and related compounds have been extensively studied over the past several decades. These investigations revealed a wide range of behavior, encompassing colossal magnetoresistance (CMR), high-TC superconductivity, and magnetic semiconductivity, all of which continue to present fundamental challenges to the understanding of such phenomena. There is, however, a close correlation between such characteristics and the appearance of magnetic order. This correlation underlies the present study, which focuses on the magnetic and transport behavior of various Manganese (Mn), Iron (Fe) and Cobalt (Co) containing materials, with particular emphasis on the nature of the magnetic order they display and the critical exponents that characterize the accompanying phase transition. The magnetic and transport properties of two specific systems will be covered: first various doped manganites from the series (La,Pr)1-x(Ca,Ba)xMnO3, and second the magnetic semiconductors Fe0.8Co0.2Si and Ga0.98Mn0.02As. In the manganites, the influence of doping on; (i) the evolution of the metal-insulator transition (MIT) with composition; (ii) the universality class of the magnetic critical behavior associated with the paramagnetic to ferromagnetic transition, which occurs in the vicinity of a MIT with which CMR is associated; (iii) the mechanisms underlying ferromagnetism across the MIT; (iv) the correlation between the appearance of a Griffiths-like phase and CMR, and (v) the origin of Griffiths-like phase have been investigated. Four different systems have been studied: La1-xCaxMnO3 (0.18 ≤ x ≤ 0.27), La1-xBaxMnO3 (x ≤ 0.33), (La1-yPry)0.7Ca0.3Mn16/18O3 (y ≤ 0.85), and Pr1-xCaxMnO3 (x = 0.27, 0.29). In Fe0.8Co0.2Si and Ga0.98Mn0.02As, the scaling between magnetization and conductivity has been the subject of ongoing debate. In bulk Fe0.8Co0.2Si, a novel scaling between the anomalous Hall effect (AHE) and the magnetization enables the anomalous Hall coefficient to be accurately determined. In turn, this enables the universality class for the transition to ferromagnetism to be established independently from the anomalous Hall conductivity. In an epitaxial (metallic) Ga0.98Mn0.02As microstructure, the magnetization has been indirectly determined from the AHE. Subsequent analysis yields magnetic critical exponents consistent with the Mean-Field model, direct support for which had previously been lacking.

Magnetic ordering of dopants in diamond holds the prospect of exploiting diamond’s unique properties in the emerging field of spintronics. Several transition metal defects have been reported to order ferromagnetically in various semiconductors, however, low Curie temperatures and lack of other fundamental material properties have hindered practical implementation in room temperature spintronic applications. In this Thesis, we consider the energetic stability of 3d transition metal doped-diamond and its magnetic ordering properties at various lattice sites and charge states using ab initio Density Functional Theory methods. We find the majority of 3d transition metal impurities in diamond at any charge state to be energetically most stable at the divacancy site compared to substitutional or interstitial lattice sites, with the interstitial site being highly unstable (by ~8 - 10 eV compared to the divacancy site). At each lattice site and charge state, we find the formation energies of transition metals in the middle of the 3d series (Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni) to be considerably lower compared to those early or late in the series. The energetic stability of transition metal impurities across the 3d series is shown to be strongly dependent on the position of the Fermi level in the diamond band gap, with the formation energies at any lattice site being lower in p-type or ntype diamond compared to intrinsic diamond. Further, we show that incorporation of isolated transition metal impurities into diamond introduces spin polarised impurity bands into the diamond band gap, while maintaining its semiconducting nature, with band gaps in both the spin-up and spin-down channels. These impurity bands are shown to originate mainly from s, p-d hybridization between carbon sp 3 orbitals with the 3d orbitals of the transition metal. In addition, the 4p orbitals contribute significantly to hybridization for transition metal atoms at the substitutional site, but not at the divacancy site. In both cases, the spin polarisation and magnetic stabilization energies are critically dependent on the lattice site and charge state of the transition metal impurity. By allowing magnetic interactions between transition metal atoms, we find that ferromagnetic ordering is likely to be achieved in divacancy Cr+2, Mn+2, Mn+1 and Co0 as well as in substitutional Fe+2 and Fe+1, indicating that transition metal-doped diamond is likely to form a diluted magnetic semiconductor which may successfully be considered for room temperature spintronic applications. In addition, these charge states correspond to p-type diamond, except for divacancy Co0, suggesting that co-doping with shallow acceptors such as B ( will result in an increase of charge concentration, which is likely to enhance mediation of ferromagnetic spin coupling. The highest magnetic stabilization energy occurs in substitutional Fe+1 (33.3 meV), which, also exhibits half metallic ferromagnetic ordering at the Fermi level, with an induced magnetic moment of 1.0 μB per ion, thus suggesting that 100 % spin polarisation may be achieved in Fe-doped diamond. / Physics / D. Litt. et Phil. (Physics)

Cette thèse est principalement consacrée à l'étude des inhomogénéités de taille nanométrique dans les systèmes magnétiques désordonnés ou dilués. La présence d'inhomogénéités, souvent mise en évidence dans de nombreux matériaux, donne lieu à des propriétés physiques intéressantes et inattendues. La possibilité de ferromagnétisme à l'ambiante dans certains matéraux a généré un grand enthousiasme en vue d'application dans la spintronique. Cependant, d'un point de vue fondamental la physique de ces systèmes reste peu explorée et mal comprise. Dans ce manuscrit, on se propose de fournir une étude théorique complète et détaillée des effets des inhomogenéités de tailles nanométriques sur les propriétés magnétiques dans les systèmes dilués. Tout d'abord, on montre que l'approche RPA locale autocohérente est l'outil le plus adapté et fiable pour un traitement approprié du désordre et de la percolation. Nous avons implémenté cet outil et étudié dans un premier temps, les propriétés magnétiques dynamiques d'un modèle Heisenberg dilué (couplages premiers voisins) sur un reseau cubique simple. Nous avons reproduit précisémment la disparition de l'ordre à longue portée au seuil de percolation et comparé ce travail à des études précédentes. Dans le cadre d'un Hamiltonien minimal (modèle $V$-$J$) nous avons ensuite étudié en détails les propriétés magnétiques de (Ga,Mn)As (température critique, excitations magnétiques, stiffness,..). Nous avons obtenu de très bon accords avec les calculs textit{ab initio} et les résulats expérimentaux. Finalement, nous avons étudié les effets des inhomogénéités dans les sytèmes dilués. Nous avons montré, qu'inclure des inhomogenéités pourrait s'averer être une voie très efficace et prometteuse pour dépasser l'ambiante dans de nombreux matériaux. Nous avons pu obtenir une augmentation colossale de la température critique dans certains cas comparée à celle des systèmes dilués homogènes. Nous avons atteint une augmentation de 1600% dans certains cas. Nous avons également analysé les effets des inhomogénéités sur les courbes d'aimantations, elles sont inhabituelles et peu conventionelles dans ces systèmes. Les spectres d'excitations magnétiques sont très complexes, avec des structures très riches, et présentent de nombreux modes discrets à haute energie. De plus, nos calculs ont montré que la ``spin-stiffness" est fortement supprimé par l'introduction d'inhomogénéités. Il reste encore de nombreuses voies à explorer, ce travail devrait servir de base à de futures études théoriques et expérimentales des systèmes inhomogènes. / This thesis is mainly devoted to the study of nanoscale inhomogeneities in diluted and disordered magnetic systems. The presence of inhomogeneities was detected experimentally in several disordered systems which in turn gave rise to various interesting and unexpected properties. In particular, the possibility of room-temperature ferromagnetism generated a huge thrust in these inhomogeneous materials for potential spintronics applications. However, a proper theoretical understanding of the underlying physics was a longstanding debate. In this manuscript we provide a detailed theoretical account of the effects of these nanoscale inhomogeneities on the magnetic properties of diluted systems. First we show the importance of disorder effects in these systems, and the need to treat them in an appropriate manner. The self-consistent local RPA (SC-LRPA) theory, based on finite temperature Green's function, is found to be the most reliable and accurate tool for this. We have successfully implemented the SC-LRPA to study the dynamical magnetic properties of the 3D nearest-neighbor diluted Heisenberg model. The percolation threshold is found to be reproduced exactly in comparison with previous existing studies. Following this, we discuss the essential role of a minimal model approach to study diluted magnetic systems. The one-band $V$-$J$ model, has been used to calculate the Curie temperature and the spin excitation spectrum in (Ga,Mn)As. An excellent agreement is obtained with first principles based calculations as well as experiments. Finally we propose an innovative path to room-temperature ferromagnetism in these materials, by nanoscale cluster inclusion. We find a colossal increase in $T_C$ of up to 1600% compared to the homogeneous case in certain cases. Also the spontaneous magnetization is found to exhibit anomalous non-mean-field like behavior in the presence of inhomogeneities. In addition we observe a complex nature of the magnon excitation spectrum with prominent features appearing at high energies, which is drastically different from the homogeneous case. Our study interestingly reveals a strong suppression of the spin-stiffness in these inhomogeneous systems. The results indicate toward the strong complexities associated with the interplay/competition between several typical length scales. We believe this work would strongly motivate detailed experimental as well as theoretical studies in this direction in the near future.