Observation of room temperature ferromagnetism in Mn–Fe doped ZnO

A room temperature ferromagnetic Fe doped ZnO bulk sample has been synthesized by co-doping 2 at% Mn with 2 at% Fe in ZnO. The final firing temperature for the preparation of the Zn 0.96 Mn 0.02 Fe 0.02 O sample is the same as the final firing temperature for the preparation of the Zn 0.98 Mn 0.02 O sample and in this case it is found to be 490 °C. It has been found that room temperature ferromagnetism in Zn 0.96 Mn 0.02 Fe 0.02 O is a factor of 1.6 times more than that observed in Zn 0.98 Mn 0.02 O samples. The size of the saturation magnetic field for the Zn 0.96 Mn 0.02 Fe 0.02 O sample is, however, only a factor of 7 times more than that observed for nanocrystalline undoped ZnO.