Effects of buffer layer on structure and ferromagnetism of Co-doped SnO₂ films

The thickness of SnO₂ buffer layers has been found to considerably affect the structure and magnetic properties of Sn _{1 -x}Co_x O₂ films. As the buffer-layer thickness increases, the lattice constant a and Co-O bond length of the Sn _{1 -x}Co_x O₂ films contract, which suggest the gradual relaxation of the accumulated tensile strain. Simultaneously, the amount of structural defects in Sn_{1 -x}Co_xO₂ films decreases significantly and the grain size increases with increasing buffer-layer thickness. All the Sn_{1 -x}Co_xO₂ films exhibit intrinsic ferromagnetism at room temperature and the saturated magnetic moment varies with the buffer-layer thickness. The dependence of ferromagnetism on the buffer-layer thickness can be explained on the basis of the variations in the density of structural defects and Co-O bond length in Sn_{1 -x}Co_xO₂ films.