Nanoscale Ferromagnetic Cobalt-Doped ZnO Structures Formed by Deep-UV Direct-Patterning

Abstract

Cobalt (II) acetate is mixed with zinc methacrylate (ZnMAA) to form a photopatternable Co-doped zinc oxide precursor. By using deep-UV (DUV) interference lithography, Co-doped ZnMAA precursor can be patterned as negative tone resist and transformed into ferromagnetic Co:ZnO films after thermal treatment. Moreover, Co:ZnO patterns as small as 300 nm line-width can be easily obtained. To have an in-depth understanding to the effect of DUV-patterning process as well as thermal annealing on Co:ZnO films derived from Co-doped ZnMAA precursor, optical, magnetic, and electrical characterizations are performed on Co:ZnO films prepared in different conditions. For the Co:ZnO film prepared without DUV-patterning, large zero-field-cooling (ZFC)-field-cooling (FC) irreversibility appears in superconducting quantum interference device measurements after vacuum annealing, indicating that Co clusters have formed inside the film. On the other hand, no ZFC-FC bifurcation can be observed for the DUV-patterned Co:ZnO film after the vacuum annealing, suggesting that the uniformity of Co ion distribution inside ZnO lattice is improved by DUV-patterning.