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A ZnO layer with rather good crystalline quality (Xmin = 9.4%) is grown on a sapphire substrate by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). Rutherford backscattering (RBS)/channeling and high-resolution x-ray diffraction (XRD) are used to characterize the elastic strain in the ZnO epilayer. The tetragonal distortion is positive and depth dependent. It is highest near the interface and decreases towards the sample surface. By combining the results of RBS and XRD, the average elastic strains in the parallel and the perpendicular directions can be calculated to be 0.50% and -0.17%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

5-at% Mn-doped and undoped BaTiO3 thin films have been grown under different oxygen partial pressures by Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) on platinum-coated sapphire substrates. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements for all the thin films reveal a similar polycrystalline single-phase perovskite structure. Ferroelectricity is observed in the Mn-doped and undoped BaTiO3 thin films grown under relatively high oxygen partial pressure. Ferromagnetic coupling of the Mn dopant ions, on the other hand, is only seen in Mn-doped BaTiO3 thin films prepared under low oxygen partial pressure in a wide temperature range from 5 K to 300 K, and is attributed to the enhanced exchange coupling between Mn dopants and electrons at oxygen vacancies. Our results show that the leakage current is decreased with the doped Mn, but increases the dielectric loss and decreases the dielectric constant, and the ferroelectricity is impaired. To produce ferromagnetism, oxygen vacancies are necessary, which unfortunately increase the leakage current. This confirms that the mutual interplay between the ferroelectricity and ferromagnetism can be tuned by exchange coupling of the doped-Mn and oxygen vacancies in the BaTiO3 thin films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]