Intrinsic Ferromagnetism in Eu doped ZnO

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates room temperature ferromagnetism in Eu-doped ZnO and attributes it to point defects, supported by ab initio calculations showing Eu ions tend to align antiferromagnetically in perfect ZnO.

Contribution

It provides the first experimental evidence of room temperature ferromagnetism in Eu-doped ZnO and explains its origin through defect-induced magnetic interactions.

Findings

Room temperature ferromagnetism observed in Eu-doped ZnO.

Ab initio calculations show Eu ions align antiferromagnetically in perfect ZnO.

Point defects induce ferromagnetism in Eu-doped ZnO.

Abstract

We report room temperature ferromagnetism in as-implanted Eu doped ZnO (ZnO:Eu). To address the origin of ferromagnetism ab initio calculations of ZnO:Eu system are performed. Results show that the ferromagnetism is induced by ZnO point defects as Eu ions in perfect ZnO tend to align antiferromagnetically.