Low temperature magnetism in Sb$_{2-x}$V$_x$Te$_3$ thin film grown on sapphire substrate by MBE

Ferromagnetic semiconductors containing transition ions have received considerable attention since they are promising materials for spintronics application. However, their Curie temperatures need to be increased in order to be useful. In this work, good quality ferromagnetic semiconductor Sb$_{2-x}$V$_{x}$T$_{3}$ thin films have been grown on sapphire (0001) substrate by non-equilibrium MBE technique. The change from diamagnetism to ferromagnetism with the increasing concentration of V in the Sb$_{2}$Te$_{3}$ matrix has been studied via temperature dependent magnetic susceptibility and magnetotransport measurements. The solubility limit of V in the Sb$_{2}$Te$_{3}$ thin films has been studied by X-ray diffraction and EPMA (Electron Probe Microanalysis). The anisotropic dependence of the magnetization in Sb$_{2-x}$V$_{x}$T$_{3}$ thin films has been studied. The underlining physical mechanism that leads to the long-range magnetic order in Sb$_{2-x}$V$_{x}$T$_{3}$ will be discussed.