Abstract In the present study, we have elucidated an effective way to simultaneously tune the optical bandgap and magnetic properties of zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films. This can be achieved by the incorporation of nitrogen ions in the host matrix. We have systematically investigated the influence of N ions in ZnO thin films through experimental techniques and the density functional theory (DFT) calculations to understand the physical mechanism governing the observed magnetic behaviour and the variation in bandgap. For this, RF sputtered ZnO thin films deposited over Si substrates were implanted with N ions by varying the fluences and studied for their optical and magnetic properties. The pristine ZnO film is having saturation magnetization of ∼2.45 emu/cm3 which becomes almost twice for the ion fluence of 1 × 1017 ions/cm2. Furthermore, the optical bandgap is tuned from 3.27 eV to 3.04 eV with N ion implantations. This study provides a new insight to understand the basis of ferromagnetism in non-magnetic ions doped ZnO system.

中文翻译：

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深入了解 ZnO 和 N 注入 ZnO 薄膜中铁磁性的起源：实验和 DFT 方法

摘要 在本研究中，我们阐明了一种同时调节氧化锌 (ZnO) 薄膜光学带隙和磁性能的有效方法。这可以通过在宿主基质中加入氮离子来实现。我们通过实验技术和密度泛函理论 (DFT) 计算系统地研究了 N 离子对 ZnO 薄膜的影响，以了解控制观察到的磁行为和带隙变化的物理机制。为此，通过改变通量来向沉积在 Si 衬底上的射频溅射 ZnO 薄膜注入 N 离子，并研究它们的光学和磁性特性。原始 ZnO 膜的饱和磁化强度约为 2.45 emu/cm3，对于 1 × 1017 离子/cm2 的离子注量几乎是两倍。此外，通过 N 离子注入，光学带隙从 3.27 eV 调整到 3.04 eV。这项研究为理解非磁性离子掺杂 ZnO 系统中铁磁性的基础提供了新的见解。