Magnetic and optical properties of rare earth doped Sn0.95RE0.05O2−δ (RE=Gd, Dy, Er)

Abstract

The magnetic and optical properties of rare earth (Gd, Dy, and Er) ion doped SnO2 bulk and optical properties of thin films are investigated. The bulk samples were found to show an upturn in ac magnetic susceptibility at low temperatures TU and exhibited a paramagnetic moment at room temperature. The band gap of the bulk samples was found to be independent of the rare earth (RE) ions while for the thin films it varied from 3.48 eV to 3.58 eV. The observed low temperature upturn suggests an interesting magnetic property in SnO2 with RE doping.