Ferromagnetic Cu-doped AlN nanorods

Copper-doped AlN (AlN:Cu) nanorods were grown on catalyst-free Si substrates by chemical vapour deposition. The AlN: Cu nanorods exhibited the wurtzite structure with a growth direction along the c-axis. Ferromagnetic ordering of the AlN: Cu nanorods was observed at room temperature by an alternating gradient magnetometer. The spontaneous magnetization and the coercivity of the AlN: Cu nanorods are about 0.38 emu cm(-3) and 100 Oe, respectively. The results reveal that Cu is a potential nonmagnetic dopant for AlN.