Investigation of the room temperature ferro-magnetism in transition metal-doped ZnO thin films
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Investigation of the room temperature ferro‑magnetism in transition metal‑doped ZnO thin films Arun Kumar1 · Pooja Dhiman2 · Sarveena3 · Sanjeev Aggarwal1 · Mahavir Singh3 Received: 30 July 2020 / Accepted: 2 November 2020 © Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract In the present work, we report the ferromagnetic (Fe, Ni) co-doped Z n1-x-yNiyFexO (y = 0.01 and x = 0.01, 0.03, 0.05) thin films fabricated through the RF magnetron sputtering on Silicon (400) substrate. Structural studies of prepared thin films through X-ray Diffraction (XRD) reveal the formation of a single-phased hexagonal structure of films. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) confirms the decrease in surface roughness with the increase in Fe doping. The optical band gap of the thin films analyzed through the UV–Vis spectroscopy suggests the appropriateness of prepared thin films to be utilized in optoelectronic devices. The magnetic study of these thin films confirmed the room temperature ferromagnetic (RTFM) behavior for prepared thin films. The observed magnetic behavior has been described in view of polaron percolation theory. Keywords RF magnetron sputtering · X-ray Diffraction (XRD) · Vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) · Atomic force microscopy (AFM)
1 Introduction Dilute Magnetic Semiconductor (DMS) in a nanometer size has been widely studied in the past few years, there has been particular interest in correlating their optical, magnetic, and structural properties with the size and shape of the nanostructures [1, 2]. The fabrication of the DMSs thin films having room-temperature ferromagnetism (RTFM) leads to the development of multifunctional spintronic devices [3, 4]. Transition metals, such as Fe, Ni-doped ZnO thin films, were used scientifically in constructive optical, electronic, and magnetic properties essential for spintronic materials [5]. The presence of the room temperature ferromagnetism (RTFM) behavior leads to another dimension towards the multiple applications of the material. The source of magnetism in “un-doped” and “doped” was believed to be powerfully reliant on deformities like Zn interstitials, Oxygen * Arun Kumar [email protected] 1
Department of Physics, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, Haryana 136119, India
2
School of Physics and Material Science, Shoolini University, Solan, H. P 173212, India
3
Department of Physics, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla 171005, India
vacancies, and other surface effects [6, 7]. The synthesis route is another important factor that results in varied magnetic character and other properties of diluted magnetic semiconductors which are expected as synthesis procedure may also result in varied defect concentration, vacancies, and morphology, etc. [8]. The cause of presenting RT-FM in the uncontaminated and contaminated semiconductors is still ambiguous. Many reports were supporting the intrinsic magnetism in the diluted magnetic semiconductors and about the defect-induced magnetism. I. Lorite et al. [9] reported that Zn interstitials
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