V. A. Chitta

Absence of ferromagnetic order in high quality bulk Co-doped ZnO samples.

Bulk Zn1�xCoxO samples were synthesized via standard solid-state reaction route with different Co molar concentrations up to 21%. A detailed microstructural analysis was carried out to investigate alternative sources of ferromagnetism, such as secondary phases and nanocrystals embedded in the bulk material. Conjugating different techniques we confirmed the Zn replacement by Co ions in the wurtzite ZnO structure, which retains, however, a high crystalline quality. No segregated secondary phases neither Co-rich nanocrystals were detected. Superconducting quantum interference device magnetometry demonstrates a paramagnetic Curie–Weiss behavior with antiferromagnetic interactions. We discuss the observed room temperature paramagnetism of our samples considering the current models for the magnetic properties of diluted magnetic semiconductors.

Long-range ferromagnetic order induced by a donor impurity band exchange in SnO2:Er3+ nanoparticles

In this work, the structural and magnetic properties of Er-doped SnO2 (SnO2:Er) nanoparticles are reported. The SnO2:Er nanoparticles have been synthesized by a polymer precursor method with Er content from 1.0% to 10.0%. X-ray diffraction results indicate the formation of only the rutile-type structure in all samples. The estimated mean crystallite size shows a decrease from ∼10 to ∼4 nm when the Er content is increased from 1.0% to 10.0%. The particle size values have been corroborated by transmission electron microscopy technique. The thermal dependence of the magnetization is consistent with the 3+ oxidation state of erbium ions for all samples. A strong paramagnetic-like behavior coexisting with a ferromagnetic phase has been determined for samples with Er content below 5.0%. Above this concentration, only a paramagnetic behavior has been determined. Isothermal magnetization curves are consistent with the occurrence of long-range ferromagnetic order mediated by donor electrons forming bound magnetic ...

Distant exchange interactions in Cd1-xMnxS from magnetization steps method

Three new distant neighbor (DN) antiferromagnetic exchange constants have been measured in wurtzite Cd1–xMnxS (x = 0.0087 and x = 0.0278) using the magnetization steps method in the millikelvin regime. The second (J(2)), third (J(3)), and fourth (J(4)) largest exchange constants (after the two first neighbor exchange interactions J1 and J1′) have been measured. The results are J(2) = 300 ± 10 mK, J(3) = 173 ± 10 mK, and J(4) = 55 ± 10 mK. No significant change of the exchange constant values has been observed as a function of the Mn concentration. The mapping of the DN exchange interactions has been investigated within a sphere of radius 2 times the nearest neighbors distance. The only way to identify the J constants was using the number coordination Zn of the different DN classes: J(2) is associated to DN classes with Zn = 6, J(3) with Zn = 12, and J(4) is ascribed to a group of three DN classes with J values around J(4). The magnitude of the J constants is not in agreement with theoretical predictions o...

Magnetic and structural properties of Fe-implanted cubic GaN

In this article, we report on structural and magnetic properties of cubic GaN epitaxial layers implanted with Fe ions and subsequently subjected to thermal annealing. The epitaxial quality of the layers was studied by X-ray diffraction rocking curves (ω-scans) and Raman spectroscopy. The results show that the implantation damages the crystal structure producing an expansion of the lattice parameter in the implanted region. These damages are partially removed by the thermal treatment. Room temperature ferromagnetism is observed for the sample implanted with a dose of 1.2 × 1016 cm−2, while samples implanted with 2.4 × 1016 cm−2 show a coexistence of ferromagnetism and paramagnetism due to disperse Fe3+. Thermal annealing changes these magnetic properties. For the low dose sample, the ferromagnetism is converted into paramagnetism while for the high dose we observed an enhancement of the ferromagnetic contribution characterized by a superparamagnetism behavior attributed to Fe-based particles.