Magnetic and Optical Properties of Fe-Doped SnO2 Thin Films Prepared by Electron Beam Evaporation Technique

We have investigated the optical and magnetic properties of Fe-doped SnO2 thin films that were deposited through a couple of distinct procedures using the electron beam evaporation technique. In the first procedure, which is the common one, each deposition target was prepared by mixing SnO2 and Fe powders and, in the second one, tin oxide and iron targets were prepared separately. Visible spectrum analysis revealed that the average optical transparency of as-deposited SnO2:Fe films decreased with Fe-doping level. In addition, the optical transparency of the produced films was improved by annealing. Deposited films were also analyzed by X-ray diffraction, Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, atomic force microscopy, magnetic force microscopy, and phase detection microscopy. It has been revealed that Fe islands have been formed in the films which were produced by the second method. These thin layers also manifested ferromagnetic properties, while those which were deposited by the first procedure were not capable of yielding room-temperature ferromagnetism.