This work reports an X-ray absorption near-edge structure spectroscopy study at both Mn and Zn K edges in Zn0.95Mn0.05O thin films prepared with different sputtering gases (pure Ar, Ar/N2 and Ar/O2). A study was made of the local order around Mn in the films, with special emphasis on the role played by both oxygen and zinc vacancies and by the structural distortion associated with the substitution of Zn by Mn in the ZnO host. The results indicated that the dependence of the magnetic properties of these Mn:ZnO thin films on the different sputtering gases used in the preparation was related to structural distortion around Mn sites.

X-ray Absorption Study of the Local Order around Mn in Mn:ZnO Thin Films: the Role of Vacancies and Structural Distortions. C.Guglieri, E.Céspedes, C.Prieto, J.Chaboy: Journal of Physics - Condensed Matter, 2011, 23[20], 206006