X-ray absorption and emission spectroscopic investigation of Mn doped ZnO films

► We employed soft X-ray spectra to investigate the electronic structure of (Zn,Mn)O. ► Band gap narrowing of (Zn,Mn)O is due to Mn doping and sp-d exchange interactions. ► High-energy Mn 3d subband can be explained as a result of ferromagnetism in (Zn,Mn)O. ► Ferromagnetism in (Zn,Mn)O is carrier-induced and not due to the secondary phases.