Electrical and ferromagnetic properties of Tb-doped indium-tin oxide films fabricated by sol-gel method

The electrical and ferromagnetic properties of (In0.9−xTbxSn0.1)2O3 and (In0.99−yTb0.01Sny)2O3 films fabricated by sol-gel method have been investigated. All the films show room temperature ferromagnetism. The magnetic moment per Tb ion of (In0.9−xTbxSn0.1)2O3 films first increases and then decreases with the increasing Tb content. The variation of conductivity with Tb content is coincident with that of the magnetic moment. Furthermore, the conductivity and magnetic moment variations with Sn content y in (In0.99−yTb0.01Sny)2O3 films also have the similar trend. These results imply that the ferromagnetism may originate from the carrier-mediated mechanism.