Nano-sized Doped ZnO – 10% M: Semiconductor Magnetic Materials

The total density of states (DOS) deduced from the band structure calculations for the system Zn0.9M0.1O (M is a transition metal) has been successfully carried out. It is observed that the presence of a small gap only in the major state density which evidences and confirms the spintronic character of the compound. Single nanosized Zn1−xMxO phase has been successfully synthesised using mechanical alloying (ZnO and MxOy precursors) with a subsequent annealing at relatively low temperatures. XRD patters of the milled mixture shows the presence mainly of ZnO phase with broad peaks, an indication of an important reduction of the particle size to the nanometer scale. After annealing, both X-ray diffraction and magnetic measurements show the effect of the nature of the metal M on the phase formation and magnetic properties.