Mn-doped Cu ₂O thin films grown by rf magnetron sputtering

Cu2 O has excellent optical properties and could be a good host semiconductor for dilute magnetic semiconductors because doped Cu2 O is a p type and direct wide-band-gap semiconductor. In this work, Mn-doped Cu2 O thin films were deposited on thermally oxidized silicon substrates by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering. X-ray diffraction results show that highly (200) oriented (Mn0.06 Cu0.94) 2 O films can be achieved at elevated substrate temperature. X-ray photoelectronic spectroscopy confirms that the valence of copper in the films is only +1, and no other valence states. The Mn-doped Cu2 O films show primary paramagnetic behaviors above 25 K. Very weak ferromagnetic property interspersed with paramagnetic phase appears near 5 K. The high magnetic moment of 5.3 μB per Mn ion and high resistivity suggest the valence state of manganese is mainly +1.