Electron irradiation induced room temperature ferromagnetism in single crystal TiO2 substrate

Rutile TiO2 exhibits RTFM when it contains intrinsic defects or when external elements are doped into the material, which makes it an crucial substrate material for advancement of spintronics. By utilizing electron irradiation, intrinsic defects can be generated in rutile TiO2, and the type and concentration of defects can be controlled by adjusting the energy and fluence of the electron beam. In this study, rutile TiO2 samples were subjected to electron irradiation at different fluences, and the resulting microstructure, magnetism, and optical properties were characterized. The findings reveal that all the samples exhibit RTFM, and the changes of MS and NS are similar with the variations of the concentration of VO. This serves as direct evidence that the intrinsic defects in rutile TiO2 can induce RTFM and confirms that electron irradiation can regulate the RTFM of rutile TiO2.