Ultraviolet photoluminescence from ferromagnetic Fe-doped AlN nanorods

Abstract

Fe-doped AlN (AlN:Fe) nanorods on silicon substrates were fabricated using a catalysis-free vapor phase method. The AlN:Fe nanorods exhibited high crystalline quality and preferred c-axis orientation. The spontaneous saturated magnetization of the AlN:Fe nanorods was determined to be ∼0.64μB∕Fe at room temperature. Room temperature photoluminescence measurement of the AlN:Fe nanorods revealed two strong ultraviolet emissions at 3.69 and 6.02eV which could be attributed to Fe3+-related and band edge emissions, respectively. The Fe-doped AlN nanorods not only exhibited ferromagnetism but also significantly enhanced the band edge emission as compared to the undoped AlN nanorods.