Mechanical doping of ZnO powders

L. C. DAMONTE; M.MEYER; L.A. MENDOZA-ZÉLIS

Simposio; 18th International Symposium on Metastable, Amorphous and Nanostructured Materials, (ISMANAM 2011); 2011

Wide bandgap semiconductor ZnO with the addition of small quantities of magnetic atoms (Mn, Co, Fe and Ni) constitute a new promising material for spintronic applications. In this work, we present the preparation of massive Zn1−xMxO (M: Fe and Co) ternary oxides using mechanical milling. The Fe atom is a particular dopant since it presents two different oxidation states which allows us to vary the starting materials: Fe2O3, −Fe or FeO, while Co is isovalent to Zn. The influence of different preparation conditions, such as initial concentrations, atmosphere and milling times on final products was investigated. The structure evolution and dopant incorporation in the wurtzite crystalline structure with milling time was analyzed by means of X-ray diffraction, Mössbauer Spectroscopy, Positron Annihilation Spectroscopy and EXAFS. The sample’s magnetic character was investigated by measurements in a Quantum Design MPMS-5S superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometer.