Adjacent Fe-Vacancy Interactions as the Origin of Room Temperature Ferromagnetism in (In1-xFex)(2)O-3

作者:Green R J*; Regier T Z; Leedahl B; McLeod J A; Xu X H; Chang G S; Kurmaev E Z; Moewes A
来源:Physical Review Letters, 2015, 115(16): 167401.
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.167401

摘要

Dilute magnetic semiconductors (DMSs) show great promise for applications in spin-based electronics, but in most cases continue to elude explanations of their magnetic behavior. Here, we combine quantitative x-ray spectroscopy and Anderson impurity model calculations to study ferromagnetic Fe-substituted In2O3 films, and we identify a subset of Fe atoms adjacent to oxygen vacancies in the crystal lattice which are responsible for the observed room temperature ferromagnetism. Using resonant inelastic x-ray scattering, we map out the near gap electronic structure and provide further support for this conclusion. Serving as a concrete verification of recent theoretical results and indirect experimental evidence, these results solidify the role of impurity-vacancy coupling in oxide-based DMSs.