Ferromagnetism at 300 K in spin-coated anatasea and rutile Ti0.95Fe0.05O2 films

Abstract

Thin films of Ti1-xFexO2 (x=0 and 0.05) have been prepared on sapphire substrates by spin-on technique starting from metal organic precursors. When heat treated in air at 550 and 700 degrees C respectively, these films present pure anatase and rutile structures as shown both by X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. Optical absorption indicate a high degree of transparency in the visible region. Such films show a very small magnetic moment at 300 K. However, when the anatase and the rutile films are annealed in a vacuum of 1x10-5 Torr at 500 degrees C and 600 degrees C respectively, the magnetic moment, at 300 K, is strongly enhanced reaching 0.46 $\mu$B/Fe for the anatase sample and 0.48 $\mu$B/Fe for the rutile one. The ferromagnetic Curie temperature of these samples is above 350 K.