GOALI/Spin Electronics: Development of ZnO Based Room Temperature Spintronics

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0224166LuThis proposal was received in response to the Spin Electronics for the 21st Century Initiative, Program Solicitation NSF 02-036. The proposal focuses on the study and development of metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) -grown transition metal (TM) -doped ZnO as a diluted magnetic semiconductor (DMS) layer, and explore its application through industrial collaborators, as well as government labs. This material offers the possibility of highly integrated device architecture along with the ability to manipulate carrier spin as well as charge. Practical application requires that the material have a magnetic Curie temperature above room temperature. While theoretical studies have identified GaN and ZnO as the most promising DMS materials in this regard, the high solubility of TM ions in ZnO, as well as its wide band gap (transparent!) its multifunctionality, and relatively low growth temperature make ZnO an excellent choice of room temperature spintronics material. To achieve their goals, they will focus on: A systematic study to develop low-pressure MOCVD technology for growth of TM-doped ZnO films. The most promising doping species are V, Co, Ni, and Mn, and R-Al2O3 is an optimal substrate; A coordinated characterization program using both in-house and synchrotron radiation based spectroscopic, imaging, and diffractive techniques to characterize the chemical, electronic, structural and magnetic properties of the MOCVD-grown TM-doped ZnO films; and through the industrial collaboration integrate the ZnO spin aligner layers with GaN LEDs to form the spin-polarized injection LED operational at room temperature. The successful completion of the proposed research will have a significant impact on the scientific understanding and practical application of diluted magnetic semiconductor spintronics. It is anticipated that new phenomena related to spin-electronic, spin-magnetic, and spin-optical integration in wide band gap DMS materials will be discovered, leading to fundamentally new devices and applications.