Sudhakar Nori

Reversible room temperature ferromagnetism in undoped zinc oxide: Correlation between defects and physical properties

We report a systematic study of the structural, chemical, electrical, optical, and magnetic properties of undoped ZnO thin films grown under different conditions as well as the films that were annealed in various environments. Oxygen-annealed films displayed a sequential transition from ferromagnetism to diamagnetism as a function of the annealing temperature. An increase in the green band intensity has been observed in oxygen-annealed ZnO films. Reversible switching of room-temperature ferromagnetism and n-type conductivity have been demonstrated by oxygen and vacuum annealing. Electron paramagnetic resonance data were found to be in agreement with the results of magnetization and conductivity measurements. Possibility of external ferromagnetic impurity as the origin of the unconventional room temperature ferromagnetism in these films has been ruled out by secondary ion mass spectrometer and electron energy loss spectroscopy studies. Correlation between structural, electrical, optical, and magnetic prope...

Defect-mediated room temperature ferromagnetism in vanadium dioxide thin films

High quality epitaxial undoped vanadium oxide (VO2) thin films on c-plane sapphire (0001) substrate have been grown using pulsed laser deposition technique. The as-grown films exhibited excellent structural and transport properties without requiring further annealing treatments for these oxygen-deficient oxide films. The epitaxial growth has been achieved via domain matching epitaxy, where matching of integral multiples of planes occurs across the film-substrate interface. The magnetic properties of vanadium oxide (VO2) films investigated at different temperatures in the range of 10–360 K showed significant magnetic hysteresis as well as saturation of the magnetic moment. The origin of ferromagnetic properties with an estimated Curie temperature above 500 K is discussed in the absence of magnetic impurities in VO2 thin films as determined by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy.

Defect dependent ferromagnetism in MgO doped with Ni and Co

We have investigated magnetic properties of MgO single crystals doped with Ni and Co impurities, and studied changes in magnetic properties after heavy ion irradiation. These results are compared with doped single-crystal thin films that contain a higher concentration of trapped defects. The as-grown bulk single crystals, which contain a small equilibrium concentration of vacancies, exhibit a perfect paramagnetic behavior throughout the temperature range and magnetic field. By introducing defects either by ion irradiation or by thin film deposition, which have trapped defects, we are able to achieve defect-mediated ferromagnetic ordering.

Defect mediated reversible ferromagnetism in Co and Mn doped zinc oxide epitaxial films

We have introduced defects in ZnO (undoped and doped with Co and Mn) epitaxial thin films using laser irradiation from nanosecond laser pulses and thermal annealing in oxygen ambient. In contrast to the as grown samples, the laser irradiated films show a significant increase in conductivity, enhancement in UV emission, while maintaining the same wurtzite crystal structure. Room-temperature ferromagnetism (RTFM) is observed in laser-irradiated samples, which increased with the number of laser pulses up to a certain value where magnetic moment saturates. The induced ferromagnetism as well as the enhanced electrical conductivity can be reversed with thermal annealing in oxygen ambient. The magnetization in Co and Mn doped films was found to be strong function of growth conditions and defect concentration. X-ray diffraction and optical absorption experiments suggested a 2+ valance state and tetrahedral coordination for both Co and Mn ions. There is a simultaneous increase in n-type electrical conductivity wit...

Diamagnetic to ferromagnetic switching in VO2 epitaxial thin films by nanosecond excimer laser treatment

VO2(010)/NiO(111) epitaxial heterostructures were integrated with Si(100) substrates using a cubic yttria-stabilized zirconia (c-YSZ) buffer. The epitaxial alignment across the interfaces was determined to be VO2(010)‖NiO(111)‖c-YSZ(001)‖Si(001) and VO2[100]‖NiO⟨110⟩‖c-YSZ⟨100⟩‖Si⟨100⟩. The samples were subsequently treated by a single shot of a nanosecond KrF excimer laser. Pristine as-deposited film showed diamagnetic behavior, while laser annealed sample exhibited ferromagnetic behavior. The population of majority charge carriers (e−) and electrical conductivity increased by about two orders of magnitude following laser annealing. These observations are attributed to the introduction of oxygen vacancies into the VO2 thin films and the formation of V3+ defects.

Modification of properties of yttria stabilized zirconia epitaxial thin films by excimer laser annealing.

This study focuses on the ultrafast improvement of surface wettability, electrical, and room temperature magnetic characteristics of cubic zirconia single crystalline thin films after laser annealing. The point defects generated by the laser treatment are envisaged to play a critical role in altering the above properties. Yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) thin films were epitaxially grown on Si(100) substrates by pulsed laser deposition technique and subsequently annealed by a KrF excimer laser beam (τ = 25 ns) using low-energy laser pulses. An atomically sharp interface, parallel to the film free surface, between laser annealed layer and the pristine region was observed. The single crystalline nature of thin films was preserved following the laser treatment. The laser-solid interaction with YSZ led to the introduction of point defects, i.e., oxygen vacancies, resulting in a strained structure which, in turn, resulted in the formation of a tetragonal-like zirconia. With the increase of number of laser pulses the laser treated films got highly disordered due to the high concentration of the point defects, while maintaining their crystalline nature. Although the surface of the pristine sample showed weak hydrophilic characteristics (contact angle ∼ 73°), the laser annealed samples exhibited significantly improved hydrophilic characteristics. It was found that there is an optimum number of laser pulses where the maximum hydrophilicity (contact angle ∼ 22°) is obtained. The carrier concentration in the sample with the highest hydrophilicity was determined to be higher by about 5 orders of magnitude compared to the pristine sample. This sample possessed the lowest electrical resistivity. The laser annealed YSZ epilayers showed a superior room-temperature ferromagnetic behavior, compared to the pristine samples. A 2-fold enhancement in the magnetization of the samples was observed following the laser treatment which is a clear demonstration of the key role of defects and their transient distribution throughout the lattice. All these observations were correlated with the formation of point defects due to the photon interaction with YSZ and absorption of energy of the KrF laser photons to produce defects.

Ferroelectric and magnetic properties of multiferroic BiFeO3-La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 heterostructures integrated with Si (100)

We report on the electrical, ferroelectric, and magnetic properties of BiFeO3 (BFO)-La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 heterostructures deposited epitaxially onto Si(100) substrates. Temperature dependent (200–350 K) current-voltage (I-V), switching spectroscopy piezo-response force microscopy (SSPFM), and temperature dependent (5–300 K) anisotropic magnetization measurements have been performed. The BFO (100-nm thick)-based device structures were fabricated with a 250 nm thick La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 bottom electrode and 200 μm circular top Pt electrodes. I-V measurements performed at various temperatures indicated that the devices retained their as-deposited characteristics and exhibited non-leaky behavior up to at least 50 cycles. The temperature-dependent measurements showed clear diode-like behavior and resistive (hysteretic) switching behaviour. Characteristic butterfly loops (of several cycles) were observed in the PFM amplitude signals of the BFO film. In addition, the phase signal indicated a clear (180°) switching behavior ...

Ga and Al doped zinc oxide thin films for transparent conducting oxide applications: Structure-property correlations

We report a detailed investigation on the structure-property correlations in Ga and Al codoped ZnO films on c-sapphire substrates where the thin film microstructure varies from nanocrystalline to single crystal. We have achieved highly epitaxial films with very high optical transmittance (close to 90%) and low resistivity (∼110 μΩ-cm) values. The films grown in an ambient oxygen partial pressure (PO2) of 5 × 10−2 Torr and at growth temperatures from room temperature to 600 °C show semiconducting behavior, whereas samples grown at a PO2 of 1 × 10−3 Torr show metallic nature. The most striking feature is the occurrence of resistivity minima at relatively high temperatures around 110 K in films deposited at high temperatures. The measured optical and transport properties were found to be a strong function of growth conditions implying that the drastic changes are brought about essentially by native point defects. The structure-property correlations reveal that point defects play an important role in modifyin...

Strain induced room temperature ferromagnetism in epitaxial magnesium oxide thin films

We report on the epitaxial growth and room-temperature ferromagnetic properties of MgO thin films deposited on hexagonal c-sapphire substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The epitaxial nature of the films has been confirmed by both θ-2θ and φ-scans of X-ray diffraction pattern. Even though bulk MgO is a nonmagnetic insulator, we have found that the MgO films exhibit ferromagnetism and hysteresis loops yielding a maximum saturation magnetization up to 17 emu/cc and large coercivity, Hc = 1200 Oe. We have also found that the saturation magnetization gets enhanced and that the crystallization degraded with decreased growth temperature, suggesting that the origin of our magnetic coupling could be point defects manifested by the strain in the films. X-ray (θ-2θ) diffraction peak shift and strain analysis clearly support the presence of strain in films resulting from the presence of point defects. Based on careful investigations using secondary ion mass spectrometer and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies,...

Nanostructured materials for electronics and photonics

This special issue addresses both experimental and theoretical research works in the areas of nanoscale electronic, optoelectronic, andmagneto-optical materials. It aims to facilitate the dissemination of interdisciplinary research results in the interrelated and rapidly converging fields of nanoelectronics and photonics. The main focus of this issue is placed on enhancing the performance of electronic devices using nanoscience and nanotechnology.The following aspects were considered as particular interests for this special issue: