Characterization of dilute magnetic semiconducting transition metal doped ZnO thin films by sol–gel spin coating method

Pure and transition metal (TM = Ni, Mn, Co) doped zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films were prepared by sol–gel spin coating method with a concentration of 0.03 mol% of transition metals. X-ray diffraction studies revealed the polycrystalline nature of the films with the presence of hexagonal wurtzite structure. UV transmittance spectra showed that all the films are highly transparent in the visible region and in the case of doped ZnO thin films, d–d transition was observed in the violet region due to the existence of crystalline defects and grain boundaries. The optical band gap of the films decreases with increasing orbital occupation numbers of 3d electrons due to the orbital splitting of magnetic ions. Ultraviolet and near-infrared electronic transitions were observed which reveals a strong relationship with the doping of transition metal into ZnO site. The observed luminescence in the green, violet and red regions strongly depends on the doping elements owing to the different oxygen vacancy, oxygen interstitial, and surface morphology. The surface morphology of thin films was investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) confirmed the stoichiometric composition of the TM doped ZnO thin films. Magnetic measurements at room temperature exhibited well defined ferromagnetic features of the thin films.