Influence of Rare Earth Ho³⁺ Doping on Structural, Microstructure and Magnetic Properties of ZnO Bulk and Thin Film Systems

We have investigated the doping behavior of rare earth element holmium (Ho³⁺) in ZnO semiconductor. The structural, microstructure, and magnetic properties of Zn_1-xHo_xO (x=0.0, 0.04, and 0.05) thin films deposited on Si(100) substrate by thermal evaporation technique were studied. The ceramic targets were prepared by conventional solid state ceramic technique. The pallets used as target were final sintered at 900 oC in the presence of N2 atmosphere. The experimental results of X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra, surface morphology, and magnetic properties show that the Ho³⁺ doped ZnO thin films has a strong influence on the materials properties. The higher angle shift in peak position and most preferred (101) orientation were observed in XRD pattern. These spectra confirmed the substitution of Ho3+ in ZnO lattice. The surface morphology and stoichiometry for both bulk and thin films were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy. It was observed that grain size decreases with the increase of Ho³⁺. Room temperature ferromagnetism was observed for Zn_0.95Ho_0.05O films. The ferromagnetism might be attributed to the substitution of Ho ions for Zn²⁺ in ZnO lattices.