Publication details
Defect-induced ferromagnetism in undoped oxide thin films: the case of WO3
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2026 |
| Type | Peer-reviewed scientific article |
| Magazine / Source | JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY C |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| web | https://pubs.rsc.org/tc/article/doi/10.1039/d6tc02146h/1360108/Defect-induced-ferromagnetism-in-undoped-oxide |
| Doi | https://doi.org/10.1039/d6tc02146h |
| Keywords | Defect-related magnetism; low dimensionality; magnetic semiconductors; high Tc ferrmagnetism; spintronics |
| Description | Room-temperature ferromagnetism emerges in pulsed laser ablated WO3 thin films on various types of substrates. Magnetization is strongly thickness dependent and anisotropic, while X-ray diffraction and magnetic force microscopy data confirm single-phase films with well-defined magnetic domains. First-principles calculations were performed for bulk WO3, WO3(001) slabs, intrinsic vacancies and the structural compatibility between WO3(001) and the crystalline substrates. Pristine bulk and slab WO3 are non-magnetic, whereas neutral W vacancies induce O-centered magnetic moments through spin-polarized O 2p-derived defect states. Surface W vacancies are energetically favored and therefore, identified as the main microscopic source of the magnetic response. Oxygen vacancies, in contrast, produce only weak and largely compensated W-centered moments. The substrate-dependent magnetism is thus attributed to the interplay between surface/interface structure, defect formation, and W-vacancy-induced spin polarization. |
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