Room-temperature ferromagnetism in (Mn, N)-codoped ZnO thin films prepared by reactive magnetron cosputtering

Abstract

(Mn, N)-codoped ZnO films were grown on fused silica substrates by reactive magnetron cosputtering. X-ray diffraction measurements reveal that the films have the single-phase wurtzite structure with c-axis preferred orientation. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies indicate the incorporation of both divalent Mn2+ and trivalent N3− ions into ZnO lattice. Acceptor doping with nitrogen partly compensates the “native donors,” which results in a low electron concentration of 3.16×1016cm−3 though p-type conductivity is not achieved. (Mn, N)-codoped ZnO films show significant ferromagnetism with Curie temperature above 300K. The mechanism of ferromagnetic coupling in codoped ZnO is discussed based on a bound magnetic polaron model.

Enhanced magnetism in Cr-doped ZnO nanoparticles with nitrogen co-doping synthesized using sol–gel technique

“…Yan et al 2007 reported the first-principle calculations and suggest that the N substitution for the O site in Mn-doped ZnO can change the interaction of neighboring Mn-Mn pairs from antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic, and accordingly, they observed that the effective magnetic moment per Mn is greatly enhanced for N co-doped Mn:ZnO thin films grown using inductively coupled plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition method. Xu et al 2006 suggested the bound magnetic polaron model for long-range ferromagnetic coupling between Mn 2? -Mn 2?…”

“…Assadi et al 2009 also predicted enhanced ferromagnetism in ZnO co-doped with Co and N. Yan et al 2007 reported that N incorporation in Mn:ZnO thin films synthesized using chemical vapor deposition method, greatly enhanced the magnetic moment per Mn. Xu et al 2006 reported ferromagnetism in N and Mn co-doped ZnO thin films grown using reactive magnetron sputtering and suggested bound magnetic polaron model for the observed magnetism. Different groups have observed high-T C ferromagnetism in ZnO:Mn films by doping group V elements (N, P, and As) as p-type dopants and suggested the activation of ferromagnetism to the holes induction by the doping of acceptors (Kittistved et al 2005;Xu et al 2006).…”

“…Xu et al 2006 reported ferromagnetism in N and Mn co-doped ZnO thin films grown using reactive magnetron sputtering and suggested bound magnetic polaron model for the observed magnetism. Different groups have observed high-T C ferromagnetism in ZnO:Mn films by doping group V elements (N, P, and As) as p-type dopants and suggested the activation of ferromagnetism to the holes induction by the doping of acceptors (Kittistved et al 2005;Xu et al 2006). Among group V acceptors, N has been considered to be a potential acceptor for making p-type ZnO (Zhang et al 2001;Kaminska et al 2005).…”

ZnO-based nanostructures for diluted magnetic semiconductor

“…Furthermore, (Mn,N)-codoped ZnO nanopillars prepared by RF magnetron sputtering showed enhanced RTFM as compared to ZnO:Mn prepared using the same approach [65]. Based on the appearance of acceptors as evidenced from Hall measurement, the ferromagnetism in (Mn,N)-codoped ZnO nanopillars was ascribed to magnetic interaction between the bound magnetic polarons (BMPs) [66][67][68] formed between the compensated holes generated by N doping and localized magnetic cations created by Mn doping. Besides H or N, codoping with other elements has also been attempted.…”

Effects of the Cu Ion on the Structural and Optical Properties of Yttrium Doped ZnO by Solution Combustion

“…However, the doping of ZnO with Cu 2+ ions cannot modify ZnO structure [20]. In turn, the Y 3+ element belong to rare earth periodic family [5] [6], the importance of Y 3+ is its capacity for tailoring the optical properties of ZnO, because Y 3+ doping decrease the energy band gap of ZnO [7]. The Y 3+ surface hinders crystalline growth and promotes vacancies generation [21].…”