Homogeneous and inhomogeneous magnetic oxide semiconductors

Magnetic oxide semiconductors are significant spintronics materials.In this article, we review recent advances for homogeneous and inhomogeneous magnetic oxide semiconductors.In the homogeneous magnetic oxide semiconductors,we focus on the various doping techniques including choosing different transition metals, codoping, non-magnetic doping,and even un-doping to realize homogeneous substitution and the clear magnetic origin.And the enhancement of the ferromagnetism is achieved by nanodot arrays engineering, which is accompanied by the tunable optical properties.In the inhomogeneous magnetic oxide semiconductors, we review some heterostructures and their magnetic and transport properties, especially magnetoresistance, which are dramatically modulated by electric field in the constructed devices.And the related mechanisms are discussed in details.Finally, we provide an overview and possible potential applications of magnetic oxide semiconductors.