Electro-codeposition synthesis and room temperature ferromagnetic anisotropy of high concentration Fe-doped ZnO nanowire arrays

Fe-doped ZnO dilute magnetic semiconductor (DMS) nanowire arrays were fabricated in anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membranes using electro-codeposition followed by long-time anneal process. The morphology, chemical composition and crystal structure were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) equipped with an energy dispersive x-ray spectrometer, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy. The results prove that the Fe has been successfully doped in the lattice of ZnO nanowire arrays and the estimated Fe atomic ratio is around 22%. Micro-superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) shows that the nanowire arrays exhibit room temperature (300 K) ferromagnetic and anisotropic ferromagnetic behavior which may be a consequence of the easy magnetization direction along the wire axes and magnetostatic interaction. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.