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The semiconductors based on ZnO doped by magnetic impurities belong to a new class of advanced materials,dilute magnetic semiconductors, which have recently received much experimental and
theoretical attention as a suitable spin source for spintronic
applications. Some of the highly doped wide band gap materials like (Zn,Mn)O reveal a ferromagnetic like behavior near and above room temperature,which is considered as a major criterium for spintronic applications. The present project focuses on material and technological aspects of transition metal (TM) and rare earth (RE) doped ZnO thin films fabricated by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) technique. The TM and RE elements will be incorporated either by ion implantation followed by annealing or
by in-situ MOCVD using MO precursors as TM sources. The corresponding bulk materials will be prepared by ceramic route or as
single crystals. The sythetized materials will be chemically and
structurally characterized and their magnetic and electric transport properties will be thoroughly examined. The thermodynamic and
electronic structure calculations will be used as auxiliary tools to
model the MOCVD process and to interpret the physical properties.
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