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Carrier-controlled ferromagnetism in transparent oxide semiconductors

Nature Materials volume 5, pages 298–304 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

The search for an ideal magnetic semiconductor with tunable ferromagnetic behaviour over a wide range of doping or by electrical gating is being actively pursued as a major step towards realizing spin electronics. A magnetic semiconductor having a high Curie temperature, capable of independently controlled carrier density and magnetic doping, is crucial for developing spin-based multifunctional devices. Cr-doped In2O3 is such a unique system, where the electrical and magnetic behaviour—from ferromagnetic metal-like to ferromagnetic semiconducting to paramagnetic insulator—can be controllably tuned by the defect concentration. An explicit dependence of magnetic interaction leading to ferromagnetism on the carrier density is shown. A carrier-density-dependent high Curie temperature of 850–930 K has been measured, in addition to the observation of clear magnetic domain structures in these films. Being optically transparent with the above optimal properties, Cr-doped In2O3 emerges as a viable candidate for the development of spin electronics.

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Figure 1: X-ray pattern and HRXTEM image of Cr:IO film.
Figure 2: Electrical transport properties of IO and Cr:IO films.
Figure 3: Magnetization data for Cr:IO, IO films and the substrate.
Figure 4: Magnetization and anomalous Hall effect data for 2% Cr:IO films.
Figure 5: MFM images and M–H data for Cr:IO films.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank R. Meservey, S. Foner and R. O’Handley for carefully checking the manuscript, and giving us valuable suggestions. We also thank D. Heiman for allowing us to use the SQUID at Northeastern University. This work is supported by a KIST–MIT grant, and partially supported by CMI funds at MIT and NSF. The research work carried out at Boise State University was supported, in part, by grants from the NSF-CAREER program (DMR-0449639) and the DoE-EPSCoR program (DE-FG02-04ER46142).

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Author notes

  1. P. R. LeClair

    Present address: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, 35487, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Francis Bitter Magnet Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139, USA

    J. Philip, S. Layne, P. R. LeClair, T. S. Santos & J. S. Moodera

  2. Department of Physics, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho, 83725, USA

    A. Punnoose, B. I. Kim, K. M. Reddy & J. O. Holmes

  3. Institute of Physics, Sachivalaya Marg, Bhuvaneswar, 751005, India

    B. Satpati

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Correspondence to J. Philip or J. S. Moodera.

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Philip, J., Punnoose, A., Kim, B. et al. Carrier-controlled ferromagnetism in transparent oxide semiconductors. Nature Mater 5, 298–304 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat1613

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