Magnetic and Transparent Conducting Properties

Transition metals (Fe, Co, Ni) doped Zinc oxide (ZnO) films have emerged as potential candidate for diluted magnetic semiconductor (DMS) and transparent magnetic semiconductor (TMS) materials. These materials, an intelligent replacement of ferromagnetic metals and semiconductor junctions, demand promising utility in future spintronic and opto-spintronic devices. However, there are certain fundamental questions which need to be addressed thoroughly before applying these materials in any spin device. The major issues are: (i) whether the ferromagnetism (FM) in these materials is intrinsic or due to phase segregated transition metal (TM), (ii) is it possible to tune the FM properties, (iii) what are the role of defects and microstructure and (iv) how stable the FM properties of these materials are. The present work originates with a motivation to understand these fundamental questions through detail experimental studies.