Magnetic order triggered by hydrogenation of Li-doped ZnO microwires

I. LORITE; STRAUEB, B; KUMAR, P. ; C. I. ZANDALAZINI; OHLDAG, H; S. PEREZ DE HELUANI; P. ESQUINAZI

Dresden

Conferencia; DPG-Dresden; 2014

Cation and oxygen vacancies, as well as hydrogen can play an impor- tant role in the magnetic order observed in nominally non-magnetic oxides like ZnO, a phenomenon called nowadays as defect-induced magnetism (DIM). In this work we have produced microwires of ZnO, pure and doped with 1...7 atom.% Li. The magnetic characterization of the wires has been realized using magnetoresistance, superconduct- ing quantum interferometer device (SQUID), photoconductivity and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD). Photoluminescence spec- troscopy was performed to elucidate the incidence of defects. Our results indicate that hydrogenation of pure ZnO microwires triggers magnetic order at temperatures below 100K. Room temperature mag- netic order is observed after hydrogenation of Li-doped ZnO with a Li concentration above 1%, in agreement with the expected minimum distance between localized defects necessary to trigger magnetic or- der. Hydrogenation is a simpler and more eective way to trigger DIM in nominally non-magnetic oxides microstructures, paving the way for possible future applications of this phenomenon.