Epitaxial growth and magnetic properties of Cr-doped AlN thin films

Authors

Jun Zhang, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
Sy_Hwang Liou, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
David J. Sellmyer, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

May 2005

Comments

Published in Journal Of Physics: Condensed Matter, 17 (2005), 3137–3142. doi:10.1088/0953-8984/17/21/009 Online at http://stacks.iop.org/JPhysCM/17/3137

Abstract

Cr-doped AlN thin films were epitaxially grown on Al₂O₃(001) substrates at low temperature by reactive magnetron sputtering,and their magnetic properties were investigated. Extensive x-ray diffraction studies indicated that the films have a wurtzite-type hexagonal structure and are (001) oriented, with an epitaxial relationship of the [100] direction of the films along the [110] direction of Al₂O₃. The c axis lattice parameter of the films showed a linear dependence on the Cr concentration for Cr concentrations below 0.15. Room temperature ferromagnetism was observed, and the magnetic properties showed strong dependence on the Cr concentration over a wide range.