Ferromagnetic Cu-doped AlN nanorods

Copper-doped AlN (AlN:Cu) nanorods were grown on catalyst-free Si substrates by chemical vapour deposition. The AlN:Cu nanorods exhibited the wurtzite structure with a growth direction along the c-axis. Ferromagnetic ordering of the AlN:Cu nanorods was observed at room temperature by an alternating gradient magnetometer. The spontaneous magnetization and the coercivity of the AlN:Cu nanorods are about 0.38?emu?cm?3 and 100?Oe, respectively. The results reveal that Cu is a potential nonmagnetic dopant for AlN.