Magnetic oxide semiconductors, oxide semiconductors doped with transition metal elements, are one of the candidates for a high Curie temperature ferromagnetic semiconductor that is important to realize semiconductor spintronics at room temperature. We review in this paper recent progress of research on various magnetic oxide semiconductors. The magnetization, magneto-optical effect and magneto-transport such as the anomalous Hall effect are examined from the viewpoint of feasibility to evaluate the ferromagnetism. The ferromagnetism of Co-doped TiO2 and transition metal-doped ZnO is discussed.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0268-1242/20/4/012/pdf

Magnetic oxide semiconductors

A review is given on the basic properties of 2:14:1 hard magnetic phases as well as technological procedures used for manufacturing R-Fe-B and R-Fe-C permanent magnets. First, we analyse the phase diagrams, crystal structure of hard magnetic phases and composition ranges in which these phases form solid solutions, as a result of various types of substitution. Then, the magnetic properties of and -based compounds are described. The routes used for manufacturing R-Fe-B and R-Fe-C permanent magnets are detailed. The magnets' microstructure as well as their coercivities are described in correlation with composition and manufacturing routes. The properties of nanostructure magnets are then presented. Finally, the stability of Nd-Fe-B and Nd-Fe-C magnets in various working conditions is analysed.

Permanent magnets based on R-Fe-B and R-Fe-C alloys

A previous study of the growth conditions has shown that single-phase BiFeO3 thin films can only be obtained in a narrow pressure-temperature window and that these films display a weak magnetic moment. Here we study in more detail the structure and the magnetism of single-phase BiFeO3 films by means of reciprocal space mapping, Raman spectroscopy and neutron diffraction. X-ray and Raman data suggest that the BiFeO3 structure is tetragonal for 70 nm-thick films and changes to monoclinic for 240 nm-thick films, thus remaining different from that of the bulk (rhombohedral) structure. In the 240 nm monoclinically distorted film neutron diffraction experiments allow the observation of a G-type antiferromagnetic order as in bulk single crystals. However, the satellite peaks associated with the long-wavelength cycloid present in bulk BiFeO3 are not observed. The relevance of these findings for the exploitation of the magnetoelectric properties of BiFeO3 is discussed.

Structural distortion and magnetism of BiFeO3 epitaxial thin films: a Raman spectroscopy and neutron diffraction study

Magnetic 3d-ions doped into wide-gap oxides show signatures of room temperature ferromagnetism, although their concentration is two orders of magnitude smaller than that in conventional magnets. The prototype of these exceptional materials is Co-doped ZnO, for which an explanation of the room temperature ferromagnetism is still elusive. Here we demonstrate that magnetism originates from Co oxygen-vacancy pairs with a partially filled level close to the ZnO conduction band minimum. The magnetic interaction between these pairs is sufficiently long-ranged to cause percolation at moderate concentrations. However, magnetically correlated clusters large enough to show hysteresis at room temperature already form below the percolation threshold and explain the current experimental findings. Our work demonstrates that the magnetism in ZnO:Co is entirely governed by intrinsic defects and a phase diagram is presented. This suggests a recipe for tailoring the magnetic properties of spintronics materials by controlling their intrinsic defects.

/pdf/impurity-ion-pair-induced-high-temperature-ferromagnetism-in-frb7wq4akl.pdf

Impurity-Ion pair induced high-temperature ferromagnetism in Co-doped ZnO

The electromotive force (e.m.f.) predicted by Faraday’s law reflects the forces acting on the charge, –e, of an electron moving through a device or circuit, and is proportional to the time derivative of the magnetic field. This conventional e.m.f. is usually absent for stationary circuits and static magnetic fields. There are also forces that act on the spin of an electron; it has been recently predicted that, for circuits that are in part composed of ferromagnetic materials, there arises an e.m.f. of spin origin even for a static magnetic field. This e.m.f. can be attributed to a time-varying magnetization of the host material, such as the motion of magnetic domains in a static magnetic field, and reflects the conversion of magnetic to electrical energy. Here we show that such an e.m.f. can indeed be induced by a static magnetic field in magnetic tunnel junctions containing zinc-blende-structured MnAs quantum nanomagnets. The observed e.m.f. operates on a timescale of approximately 102–103 seconds and results from the conversion of the magnetic energy of the superparamagnetic MnAs nanomagnets into electrical energy when these magnets undergo magnetic quantum tunnelling. As a consequence, a huge magnetoresistance of up to 100,000 per cent is observed for certain bias voltages. Our results strongly support the contention that, in magnetic nanostructures, Faraday’s law of induction must be generalized to account for forces of purely spin origin. The huge magnetoresistance and e.m.f. may find potential applications in high sensitivity magnetic sensors, as well as in new active devices such as ‘spin batteries’.

http://absimage.aps.org/image/MAR10/MWS_MAR10-2009-000287.pdf

Electromotive force and huge magnetoresistance in magnetic tunnel junctions with zinc-blende MnAs nano-magnets

We give a brief introduction to the oxide (ZnO, TiO2, In2O3, SnO2, etc.)-based magnetic semiconductors from fundamental material aspects through fascinating magnetic, transport, and optical properties, particularly at room temperature, to promising device applications. The origin of the observed ferromagnetism is also discussed, with a special focus on first-principles investigations of the exchange interactions between transition metal dopants in oxide-based magnetic semiconductors.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1674-1056/22/8/088505/pdf

Oxide magnetic semiconductors: Materials, properties, and devices

Chemical adsorption and desorption of hydrogen atoms on single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are investigated by using molecular dynamics simulations. It is found that the adsorption and desorption energy of hydrogen atoms depend on the hydrogen coverage and the diameter of the SWNTs. Hydrogen-adsorption geometry at the coverage of 1.0 is more energetically stable. The adsorption energy decreases with the increasing diameter of the armchair tubes. The adsorption and desorption energy of hydrogen atoms can be modified reversibly by externally radial deformation. The averaged C-H bond energy on the high curvature sites of the deformed tube increases with increasing radial deformation, while that on the low curvature sites decreases.

Tunable Adsorption and Desorption of Hydrogen Atoms on Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Investigations on magnetization reversal processes in oriented sintered Nd-Fe-B alloys

High quality Co-doped ZnO thin films are grown on single crystalline Al2O3(0001) and ZnO(0001) substrates by oxygen plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy at a relatively lower substrate temperature of 450°C. The epitaxial conditions are examined with in-situ reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) and ex-situ high resolution x-ray diffraction (HRXRD). The epitaxial thin films are single crystal at film thickness smaller than 500 nm and nominal concentration of Co dopant up to 20%. It is indicated that the Co cation is incorporated into the ZnO matrix as Co2+ substituting Zn2+ ions. Atomic force microscopy shows smooth surfaces with rms roughness of 1.9 nm. Room-temperature magnetization measurements reveal that the Co-doped ZnO thin films are ferromagnetic with Curie temperatures TC above room temperature.

Epitaxial Properties of Co-Doped ZnO Thin Films Grown by Plasma Assisted Molecular Beam Epitaxy

Perovskite-type LaFe1–xCuxO3 (x = 0.10, 0.14, 0.18) solid solution is prepared with the conventional solid-state reaction technique. The electrical resistivity and the Seebeck coefficient are measured in the temperature range 473–1073K to elucidate the Cu doping effect on the thermoelectric properties of the LaFeO3. The electrical resisitivity of LaFe1–x Cux O3 shows semiconducting behavior. The temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity indicates that the adiabatic small-polaron hopping mechanism is dominant for their electric transportations. The activation energy decreases with the increasing Cu content as well as the increasing temperature. The Seebeck coefficient changes from a negative value to a positive value around 510 K, and increases with rising temperature up to 710K, then becomes saturated around 200μV/K. The Seebeck coefficient decreases with the substitution of Cu atoms in the temperature range of 573–1073 K, while the electrical resistivity decreases with the substitution of Cu atoms in the whole measured temperature. Overall the power factor increases with rising temperature, and the highest value of power factor is 54 μW/K2 m for x = 0.10 of Cu doping.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0256-307X/26/10/107301/pdf

Mei Liang-Mo

Papers

Oxide magnetic semiconductors: Materials, properties, and devices

Tunable Adsorption and Desorption of Hydrogen Atoms on Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Investigations on magnetization reversal processes in oriented sintered Nd-Fe-B alloys

Epitaxial Properties of Co-Doped ZnO Thin Films Grown by Plasma Assisted Molecular Beam Epitaxy

Cu Doping Effect on Electrical Resistivity and Seebeck Coefficient of Perovskite-Type LaFeO 3 Ceramics