Structural, surface morphological and magnetic studies of Zn1-x Fex S(x = 0.00-0.10) diluted magnetic semiconductors grown by co-precipitation method

Abstract

We have fabricated Zn1-xFexS (x=0.00, 0.02, 0.04, 0.06, 0.08 and 0.10) diluted magnetic semiconductors using co-precipitation method. X-ray diffraction patterns depict that Zn1-xFexS appears as a dominant phase with cubic zinc blende structure and nanoscale crystallite size. In addition, a secondary phase of rhombohedral ZnS also appears; however, no additional phase arises that primarily belongs to Fe dopant. Using Debye-Scherrer relation, the crystallite size is found to be in the range of 20-27nm, which is in good agreement with the crystallite size calculated using the Williamson-Hall (WH) plot method. The appearance of secondary phase provoked to study the residual strain using Stokes-Wilson equation, which is nearly consistent to that observed using WH plot method. The surface morphology, revealed using scanning electron microscopy, depicts non-uniform surface structure with a variety of grains and void dimensions. Hysteresis loops measured for Zn1-xFexS at room temperature (RT) illustrate a paramagnetic behavior at higher fields; however, small ferromagnetic behavior is evident due to the small openings of the measured hysteresis loops around the origin. The measured RT ferromagnetism reveals the potential spintronic device applications of the studied diluted magnetic semiconductors.