Magnetic characteristics of phase-separated CeO2:Co thin films

Herewith, we are reporting the magnetic properties of phase-separated Co-doped CeO2 films (with a Ce:Co atomic-ratio of 0.97:0.03) grown on single-crystal SrTiO3 (001) substrates. A comparison of the magnetic characteristics of these films with those of homogenously doped CeO2:Co films of the same composition illustrates the significant differences in their magnetic behavior. These behavioral characteristics provide a model for determining if the magnetic behavior observed in this, as well as in other diluted magnetic dielectric systems, is due to homogeneous doping, a mixture of doping and transition metal cluster formation, or exists purely as a result of transition metal clustering. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.