Optical and magnetic properties of Mn doped ZnO samples prepared by solid state route

The structural, optical and magnetic properties of Zn_1?xMn_xO (x = 0.02, 0.04 and 0.06) prepared by solid state route are presented. The rietveld refined X-ray data revealed single hexagonal phase with the space group P63mc in all samples. Significant blue shift with Mn doping is observed in UV–Visible studies, supported by photoluminescence spectra showing a high intensity UV emission peak followed by the low intensity green emission band corresponding to oxygen vacancies and defects. Photoluminescence spectra also suggested that doping of Mn can affect defects and oxygen vacancies in ZnO and giving the possibility of band gap tuning for potential applications in optoelectronic devices. All single-phase samples exhibit paramagnetic behaviour at room temperature, involving small proportion of defect mediated ferromagnetic ordering.