Probing the local coordination environment for transition metal dopants in zinc oxide nanowires.
It is hypothesized that a highly ordered, relatively defect-free dilute magnetic semiconductor system should act as a weak ferromagnet. Transition-metal-doped ZnO nanowires, being single crystalline, single domain, and single phase, are used here as a model system for probing the local dopant coordination environments using X-ray absorption spectroscopy and diffraction. Our X-ray spectroscopic data clearly show that the dopant resides in a uniform environment, and that the doping does not induce a large degree of disorder in the nanowires. This homogeneous nature of the doping inside the oxide matrix correlates well with observed weakly ferromagnetic behavior of the nanowires.
Yuhas
Benjamin D
BD
Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 947202, USA.
Fakra
Sirine
S
Marcus
Matthew A
MA
Yang
Peidong
P
D016880:Anisotropy; D003460:Crystallization / Q000379:methods*; D046911:Macromolecular Substances / Q000737:chemistry; D008280:Magnetics; D008422:Materials Testing; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D010316:Particle Size; D013499:Surface Properties; D028561:Transition Elements / Q000737:chemistry*; D015034:Zinc Oxide / Q000737:chemistry*
D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D028561:Transition Elements; D015034:Zinc Oxide