Room-temperature ferromagnetism in Ca and Mg stabilized cubic zirconia bulk samples and thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition

Abstract

Abstract We report room-temperature ferromagnetism in Ca and Mg stabilized zirconia bulk samples and thin films. Powders were prepared by the citrate-combustion route, and thin films grown on silicon substrates by the pulsed laser deposition technique. X-ray diffractograms and Raman spectra at room temperature reveal the formation of cubic phase zirconia. The observed ferromagnetism is robust at room temperature in both bulk as well as in thin film samples, although it is weaker in thin films. The origin of the ferromagnetism can be related to oxygen vacancies created due to divalent (calcium and magnesium) substitution for tetravalent zirconium ions.