| Summary: | A series of polycrystalline samples of a new diluted magnetic semiconductor (DMS) (Ba,K)(Zn,Mn)<sub>2</sub>Sb<sub>2</sub> has been synthesized and systematically studied. The parent phase is the so-called “Zintl compound” BaZn<sub>2</sub>Sb<sub>2</sub>, a week-degenerate semiconductor with a narrow band gap of 0.2 eV. In (Ba,K)(Zn,Mn)<sub>2</sub>Sb<sub>2,</sub> the charge is doped by (Ba,K) substitution while the spin is independently doped by (Zn,Mn) substitution. (Ba,K)(Zn,Mn)<sub>2</sub>Sb<sub>2</sub> and analogue (Ba,K)(Zn,Mn)<sub>2</sub>As<sub>2</sub> have comparable narrow band gaps, carrier and spin concentrations. However, the former establishes a short-range spin-glass order at a very low temperature (<10 K), while the latter forms a long-range ferromagnetic ordering with a Curie temperature up to 230 K. The sharp contrast makes (Ba,K)(Zn,Mn)<sub>2</sub>Sb<sub>2</sub> to be a touchstone for DMS theoretical models.
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