Room-temperature ferromagnetism observed in Nd-doped In2O3 dilute magnetic semiconducting nanowires**Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 11274003), the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, China, and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, China.

Abstract

Nd-doped In2O3 nanowires were fabricated by an Au-catalyzed chemical vapor deposition method. Nd atoms were successfully doped into the In2O3 host lattice structure, as revealed by energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and x-ray diffraction. Robust room temperature ferromagnetism was observed in Nd-doped In2O3 nanowires, which was attributed to the long-range-mediated magnetization among Nd3+-vacancy complexes through percolation-bound magnetic polarons.