Mn and Al co-doped CdS:Cr nanoparticles for spintronic applications

Nowadays, diluted magnetic semiconductors with improved ferromagnetic feature is utterly seeking for use in modern spintronic applications.We describe the optical as well as magnetic properties of CdS, CdS:Cr, CdS:(Cr + Al), and CdS:(Cr + Mn) co-doped samples. The substitution of Cr dopant and co-dopant ions (Al and Mn) in the host sites were confirmed through structural analysis. Declining of energy band gap with the incorporation of Cr dopant and co-dopant ions (Al and Mn) into the CdS host lattice was estimated through optical studies. Room-temperature magnetic hysteresis curves revealed that pure CdS exhibited paramagnetic nature due to its surface defects, whereas CdS:Cr, CdS:(Cr + Al), and CdS:(Cr + Mn) co-doped nanoparticles showed better ferromagnetic characteristics. Among all synthesized nanoparticles, CdS:(Cr + Al) semiconductor sample exhibited enhanced ferromagnetic nature and may benficial for spintronic applications. •CdS, CdS:Cr, CdS:(Cr + Al) and CdS:(Cr + Mn) NPs were prepared by coprecipitation route .•The tunable optical property of CdS was achieved via doping and co-doping.•Room temperature electron paramagnetic resonance was carried out.•The CdS:(Cr + Al) NPs exhibited better ferromagnetic behavior than the other samples.