The dilute magnetic and optical properties of Mn-doped ZnO nanowires

Abstract

We present a study of the dilute magnetic and optical properties of Mn-doped ZnO nanowires (Nws) fabricated by means of a liquid phase evaporation deposition process. The samples were grown using a mixed Zn/Mn liquid source with a mol ratio of Mn 10 in a constant O2/Ar gas at 580°C. The nanowires show a strong UV emission at 405nm and a blue emission at 433nm in the photoluminescence spectrum. In addition, they present a strong reversible smooth ferromagnetic hysteresis loop at room temperature, and the corresponding saturation magnetization Ms is up to 0.015emu/g Oe, showing that the nanowires are of a ferromagnetism semiconductor (DMS). With the strong magnetic and photoluminescence properties, ZnO:Mn Nws will be used in fields of making electromagnetic devices and magneto-optical storage devices. © 2011 Xiying Ma and Caoxin Lou.