Growth and characterization of Mn- and Co-doped ZnO nanowires

We report on the high-pressure pulsed laser deposition growth of zinc oxide nanowires containing about 0.2 at.% Co and 0.5 at.% Mn by NiO and Au catalyst. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction measurements revealed arrays of parallelstanding nanowires with hexagonal cross section and uniform in-plane epitaxial relations without rotational domains. Elemental analysis was carried out using particle induced X-ray emission and Q-band electron spin resonance. The valence of the incorporated Mn was determined to be 2þ. Atomic and magnetic force microscopy measurements indicate that Mn is incorporated preferentially at the nanowire boundaries.