Mn and Al co-doped CdS:Cr nanoparticles for spintronic applications

• Published in: Materials science in semiconductor processing 2021-11, Vol.134, p.106055, Article 106055
• Main Authors: Poornaprakash, B., Subramanyam, K., Cheruku, Rajesh, Kim, Y.L., Pratap Reddy, M. Siva, Minnam Reddy, Vasudeva Reddy
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: CdS; Co-doping; Electron paramagnetic resonance; Spintronics
• ISSN: 1369-8001; 1873-4081
• DOI: 10.1016/j.mssp.2021.106055

Nowadays, diluted magnetic semiconductors with improved ferromagnetic feature is utterly seeking for use in modern spintronic applications.We describe the optical as well as magnetic properties of CdS, CdS:Cr, CdS:(Cr + Al), and CdS:(Cr + Mn) co-doped samples. The substitution of Cr dopant and co-dopant ions (Al and Mn) in the host sites were confirmed through structural analysis. Declining of energy band gap with the incorporation of Cr dopant and co-dopant ions (Al and Mn) into the CdS host lattice was estimated through optical studies. Room-temperature magnetic hysteresis curves revealed that pure CdS exhibited paramagnetic nature due to its surface defects, whereas CdS:Cr, CdS:(Cr + Al), and CdS:(Cr + Mn) co-doped nanoparticles showed better ferromagnetic characteristics. Among all synthesized nanoparticles, CdS:(Cr + Al) semiconductor sample exhibited enhanced ferromagnetic nature and may benficial for spintronic applications. •CdS, CdS:Cr, CdS:(Cr + Al) and CdS:(Cr + Mn) NPs were prepared by coprecipitation route .•The tunable optical property of CdS was achieved via doping and co-doping.•Room temperature electron paramagnetic resonance was carried out.•The CdS:(Cr + Al) NPs exhibited better ferromagnetic behavior than the other samples.