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Ferromagnetism in Gd-doped ZnO thin films mediated by defects

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Abstract

Defects play an inevitable role in controlling the optical and magnetic properties of ZnO. In this study, defects were introduced in gadolinium (Gd)-doped ZnO films by depositing in pure argon atmosphere. The pristine- and Gd-doped (0.05, 0.1 and 1 at%) films were deposited on Si(111) substrate by radio frequency magnetron sputtering at a substrate temperature of 450°C under Ar pressure of 0.02 mbar. Structural, morphological, chemical, optical and magnetic properties of the deposited films were studied by X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, photoluminescence and vibrating sample magnetometer, respectively. It is confirmed that oxygen-deficient growth condition leads to the formation of oxygen vacancy (VO+) and zinc interstitial (Zni+) defects in the films. It is shown that a critical amount of Zni+ and VO+ along with the appropriate amount of Gd3+ ions are required to induce room temperature ferromagnetism in Gd-doped ZnO thin film deposited on Si(111) substrate. A possible mechanism has been proposed based on bound magnetic polaron model to explain the observed ferromagnetism.

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Acknowledgements

AS acknowledges MHRD, Government of India, for providing Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) Grant to undertake this research work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Thin Film Laboratory, Department of Physics, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli, 620015, India

    Arya Sukumaran, N Sivanantham, E Vinoth & N Gopalakrishnan

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  1. Arya Sukumaran
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  2. N Sivanantham
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  3. E Vinoth
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  4. N Gopalakrishnan
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Correspondence to N Gopalakrishnan.

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Sukumaran, A., Sivanantham, N., Vinoth, E. et al. Ferromagnetism in Gd-doped ZnO thin films mediated by defects. Bull Mater Sci 44, 259 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12034-021-02550-y

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