Metallic ferromagnetism of indium nitride nanosheets doped with Ce ions

Abstract

• Ce 3+ doped indium nitride with room temperature ferromagnetism nanosheets were synthesized. • Ce 3+ doped InN nanosheets have single crystal properties. • Ce 3+ doping concentration can modulate the saturation magnetization values of sample. • Magnetism originates from d-f interaction between localized carriers of Ce 3+ ions. • Theoretical calculation prove Ce 3+ doped InN system has metallic characteristic. Herein, Ce-doped indium nitride nanosheets with room temperature ferromagnetism were prepared by high temperature nitration reaction. The saturation magnetization value of the InN system materials can controlled by the Ce doping concentration. With the increase of the Ce doping concentration, the saturation magnetization value first increases and then decreases. When the Ce doping concentration at 1.10 at. %, the saturation magnetization of the samples reach the maximum value of 0.125 emu/g. The first-principles calculation illustrate InN:Ce system display metallic characteristic. The magnetic properties of InN:Ce system originates from the interaction of d-f orbital electrons of Ce element. The synthesized Ce-doped InN nanosheets can expand the application range of InN materials in the field of magnetic semiconductors.