Dopantsanddefectsareimportantinsemiconductorandmagneticdevices.Strategiesforcontrollingdopinganddefectshavebeenthefocusofsemiconductorphysicsresearchduringthepastdecadesandremaincriticaleventoday.Co-dopingisapromisingstrategythatcanbeusedforeffectivelytuningthedopantpopulations,electronicproperties,andmagneticproperties.Itcanenhancethesolubilityofdopantsandimprovethestabilityofdesireddefects.Duringthepast20years,significantexperimentalandtheoreticaleffortshavebeendevotedtostudyingthecharacteristicsofco-doping.Inthisarticle,wefirstreviewthehistoricaldevelopmentofco-doping.Then,wereviewavarietyofresearchperformedonco-doping,basedonthecompensatingnatureofco-dopants.Finally,wereviewtheeffectsofcontaminationandsurfactantsthatcanexplainthegeneralmechanismsofco-doping.
