Observation of room temperature ferromagnetism in Mn–Fe doped ZnO

Abstract

A room temperature ferromagnetic Fe doped ZnO bulk sample has been synthesized by co-doping 2 at% Mn with 2 at% Fe in ZnO. The final firing temperature for the preparation of the Zn0.96Mn0.02Fe0.02O sample is the same as the final firing temperature for the preparation of the Zn0.98Mn0.02O sample and in this case it is found to be 490 °C. It has been found that room temperature ferromagnetism in Zn0.96Mn0.02Fe0.02O is a factor of 1.6 times more than that observed in Zn0.98Mn0.02O samples. The size of the saturation magnetic field for the Zn0.96Mn0.02Fe0.02O sample is, however, only a factor of 7 times more than that observed for nanocrystalline undoped ZnO.