No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

It has been possible to induce room temperature ferromagnetism, exhibiting high transition temperature, in tin oxide thin films by introducing manganese in a SnO2 lattice. The observed temperature dependence of the magnetization predicts a Curie temperature exceeding 550 K. A maximum saturation magnetic moment of 0.18±0.04 μB per Mn ion has been estimated for spray pyrolized Sn1−xMnxO2−δ thin films, with x=0.10. For Mn concentration (x) higher than 0.10, the films show linear behavior. The magnetization-versus-field studies indicate that the origin of ferromagnetism lies neither in ferromagnetic metal clusters nor in the presence of metastable phases. The structure factor calculations reveal that Mn has been incorporated in the SnO2 lattice. Also, the electron transport investigation indicates that there is a change of Mn occupancy from substitutional to interstitial sites of the SnO2 lattice when the Mn concentration exceeds 7.5 at. %. These films do not exhibit anomalous Hall effects at room temperature. The optical absorption study indicates that the Sn1−xMnxO2−δ system behaves like a random alloy. The generation of additional free electrons by F doping in Sn0.90Mn0.10O2−δ thin films does not cause any increase in the magnetic moment per Mn ion, suggesting no significant role of electrons in bringing about the magnetic ordering.

A maximum room temperature ferromagnetic moment of 0.47μB∕Co ion has been observed in Sn0.9Co0.1O2−δ films grown by spray pyrolysis. The films have high conductivity (∼150Ω−1cm−1) and ∼70% transmittance in the visible region. A systematic variation of saturation magnetization, carrier concentration, electrical conductivity, and optical transmission edge in Sn1−xCoxO2−δ(0.05⩽x⩽0.15) films is correlated with the change in Co concentration, and a carrier mediated Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yoshida interaction has been proposed as the most probable mechanism for the ferromagnetic ordering. The maximum blueshift in the transmission edge by ∼215meV (at x=0.10) is attributed to the extra carriers generated by Co substitution.

No abstract

No abstract