Room-temperature ferromagnetism in a II-VI diluted magnetic semiconductor Zn1-xCrxTe -: art. no. 207202

The magnetic and magneto-optical properties of a Cr-doped II-VI semiconductor ZnTe were investigated. Magnetic circular dichroism measurements showed a strong interaction between the sp carriers and localized d spins, indicating that Zn1-xCrxTe is a diluted magnetic semiconductor. The Curie temperature of the film with x=0.20 was estimated to be 300+/-10 K, which is the highest value ever reported for a diluted magnetic semiconductor in which sp-d interactions were confirmed. In spite of its high Curie temperature, Zn1-xCrxTe film shows semiconducting electrical transport properties.