Structural, optical and magnetic characteristics of iron doped zinc oxide thin films

Abstract

Zn1-xFexO films with x = 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 at.% were prepared under high vacuum by the electron beam gun evaporation. The impact of Fe doping concentration on the films' structural, optical and magnetic characteristics has been taken into account. The patterns of XRD for all films at various Fe concentrations showed wurtzite-type structures. The results show that the size of nano-films reduces from 24 nm (0%) to 11 nm (0.20%) with elevating Fe content, which is owing to the difference between the ionic radii of Zn and Fe. Peaks associated with the elements to be seen were visible in the XPS spectra of undoped and 10% Fe-doped ZnO nanoparticles produced by the precipitation process: zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), and oxygen (O). The optical constants (n, k) of the Zn1-xFexO films were obtained by the SE measurements by an ellipsometric model, allowing for the verification of the Fe3+ ions in Fe-doped ZnO. With the addition of Fe, the energy band gap decreased from 3.44 eV to 3.28 eV. M-H measurements revealed room-temperature ferromagnetism in Fe-doped ZnO thin film. As the Fe concentration rises, the magnetization increases until it reaches a concentration of 15%, at which point it starts to decrease. This decrease in magnetization was attributable to the spinel phase, which was seen in the XRD spectra. These findings imply that Fe-doped ZnO is a highly suggested material for the creation of spintronic and optoelectronic devices.