Morphology and magnetic properties of diluted magnetic semiconductor 1D nanostructure Ni(x)Sn(1-x)O(2-delta)

SnO2 and Ni(x)Sn(1-x)O(2-delta) (x = 0.007-0.043) 1D nanostructures are fabricated using a catalyzer assisted chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The morphology of the 1D nanostructure is sensitive to the fabrication conditions. As the Ar flux rate is decreased from 50 sccm to 40 sccm, the 1D nanostructure changes from nanowire to nanobelt. All of the Ni(x)Sn(1-x)O(2-delta) 1D nanostructures exhibit room temperature ferromagnetism (RTFM). With the increasing x, magnetic moment per Ni ion increases at first, reaches a maximum of 3.33 microB in x = 0.025, then decreases. The results of annealing in vacuum and oxidizing atmospheres reveal that oxygen vacancies play a crucial role in introducing ferromagnetism, which implies that the origin of RTFM can be understood by the bound magnetic polaron model (BMP).