Magnetic properties of Cr doped ZnTe alloy powder

Zn1-xCrxTe (x=0.0 and 0.05) alloy powders were prepared without any detectable secondary phase using a conventional rotating furnace. The magnetization data obtained using VSM reveal the persistence of ferromagnetic behavior at room temperature. From the Arrott plot, the Curie temperature was estimated to be much greater than 300 K. The ESR spectroscopy analysis disclosed the existence of Cr in the +2 valence state with d(4) configuration. The complete analysis propose that the hysteresis possibly originated from the magnetic short-range ordering of highly Cr rich Zn1-xCrxTe and CrxTe cluster compounds, which exhibit net magnetic moment via superexchange interaction. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.