Room Temperature Ferromagnetism and Structure of Zn_(1-x)Cu_xO Films Synthesized by Radio Frequency Magnetron Sputtering

摘要

Zn_(1-x)Cu_xO thin films were synthesized by the radio frequency (RF) magnetronsputtering technique using a ZnO target containing different pieces of small Cu-chips. X-raydiffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were employed to analyze the crystallineand microstructure of the fihn, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used toestablish the bonding characteristics and oxidation states of copper inside the ZnO host. Roomtemperature (RT) ferromagnetism was observed in the Zn_(1-x)Cu_xO films by a Quantum Designsuperconducting quantmn interference device (SQUID) and the saturation magnetic moment ofthe films was found to decrease with the increase in Cu content.