Suppression of secondary phase formation in Fe implanted ZnO single crystals


Suppression of secondary phase formation in Fe implanted ZnO single crystals

Potzger, K.; Zhou, S.; Reuther, H.; Kuepper, K.; Talut, G.; Helm, M.; Fassbender, J.; Denlinger, J. D.

Unwanted secondary phases are one of the major problems in diluted magnetic semiconductor (DMS) creation. Here we show possibilities to avoid such phases in Fe implanted and post-annealed ZnO(0001) single crystals. While -Fe nanoparticles are formed after such doping in as-polished crystals, high temperature (1273 K) annealing in O2 or high vacuum before implantation suppresses these phases. Thus, the residual saturation magnetization in the pre-annealed ZnO single crystals is about 20 times lower than for the as-polished ones and assigned to indirect coupling between isolated Fe ions rather than to clusters.

Keywords: ZnO; Diluted Magnetic Semiconductors; Ion implantation

  • Applied Physics Letters 91(2007), 062107

Permalink: https://www.hzdr.de/publications/Publ-10305
Publ.-Id: 10305