Ferromagnetism in transparent Mn(II)-doped indium tin oxide films prepared by sol-gel process

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery of strong room-temperature ferromagnetism in Mn(II)-doped indium tin oxide films prepared via sol-gel, with potential applications in magneto-optics due to their transparency and magnetic properties.

Contribution

It demonstrates the occurrence of room-temperature ferromagnetism in transparent ITO films doped with Mn(II), highlighting the influence of structural parameters and substrate choice.

Findings

Strong ferromagnetism (~1.5 μB/Mn) observed at room temperature.

Ferromagnetic strength depends on substrate and structural parameters.

Films are optically transparent with nanocrystalline structure.

Abstract

We observe remarkably strong room temperature ferromagnetism (~1.5 Bohr Magneton/Mn) in optically transparent Mn(II)-doped indium tin oxide (ITO) films. The nanocrystalline films with average grain size 10-22 nm and thickness 150-350 nm are prepared by sol-gel coating technique on sodalime silica glass substrate. The ferromagnetic property is, of course, weak for films deposited on pure silica glass substrate. The structural parameters of the films appear to be governing the magnetic property strongly which vary appreciably depending on the substrate. The observation of room temperature ferromagnetism in transparent conducting ITO films may find a plethora of applications in the area of magneto-optics.