Enhancement of room temperature ferromagnetism in C-doped ZnO films by nitrogen codoping

The effect of nitrogen on the magnetic properties of C-doped ZnO has been investigated. It has been found that a low concentration of N doping does not lead to an apparent change of the magnetization in C-doped ZnO films. When N doping concentration exceeds 0.05 at. %, the magnetization of C-ZnO films increases significantly (more than 85%). The increased magnetization is mainly due to the enhanced moment of carbon, resulted from N doping. The successful fabrication of p-type diluted magnetic semiconductor may be of interest for spintronic applications. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.3073943]