Effects of annealing atmosphere on structure, optical and magnetic properties of Zn0.95Cu0.02Cr0.03O diluted magnetic semiconductors

Zn0.95Cu0.02Cr0.03O nanoparticles were successfully prepared by sol-gel method under different atmospheres (air and argon). X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscope, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy and vibrating sample magnetometer were used to investigate the effect of annealing atmospheres on the structure, optical and magnetic properties of Zn0.95Cu0.02Cr0.03O diluted magnetic semiconductors. The results showed that the Zn0.95Cu0.02Cr0.03O nanoparticles with 16.5 nm and 17.2 nm sintered in different atmospheres had a hexagonal wurtzite structure without any secondary phases. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis indicated that the Cr ions were the +3 and the Cu exhibits different valence state in the Zn0.95Cu0.02Cr0.03O samples annealed in different atmosphere. The annealing atmosphere was found to have effect on the optical and magnetic properties of the Zn0.95Cu0.02Cr0.03O samples.