Effect of Dopant Oxidation State and Annealing Atmosphere on the Functional Properties of Zinc Oxide-Based Nanocrystalline Powder and Thin Films

摘要

The effective incorporation of dopant species into ZnO host structure should induce changes in its physical and chemical properties enabling the establishment of novel multi-functional properties. Doping with transition metal ions and the subsequent exchange interaction between available spins of the magnetic species are expected to induce a ferromagnetic behavior. This ferromagnetic functionality will enable the application of this material in data storage and spintronics-based devices. The present research addresses the study of the effect of the oxidation state of Fe species and the influence of the annealing atmosphere on the structural and functional properties of nanocrystalline ZnO-based powders.