Laser ablation of Co:ZnO films deposited from Zn and Co metal targets on (0001) Al$_2$O$_3$ substrates

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the synthesis of high-quality Co-doped ZnO thin films via pulsed laser deposition, achieving homogeneous Co distribution and near-room-temperature ferromagnetism, advancing potential spintronic applications.

Contribution

It introduces a novel deposition method using alternating Zn and Co targets to produce uniformly doped Co:ZnO films with ferromagnetic properties near room temperature.

Findings

Homogeneous Co distribution confirmed by lattice parameter analysis.

Achieved ferromagnetism with Curie temperature close to room temperature.

Optimized growth conditions for less strained ZnO films.

Abstract

We report on the synthesis of high-quality Co-doped ZnO thin films using the pulsed laser deposition technique on (0001)-Al$_2$O$_3$ substrates performed in an oxidizing atmosphere, using Zn and Co metallic targets. We firstly optimized the growth of ZnO in order to obtain the less strained film. Highly crystallized Co:ZnO thin films are obtained by an alternative deposition from Zn and Co metal targets. This procedure allows an homogenous repartition of the Co in the ZnO wurzite structure which is confirmed by the linear dependance of the out-of-plane lattice parameter as a function of the Co dopant. In the case of 5% Co doped, the film exhibits ferromagnetism with a Curie temperature close to the room temperature.