Abstract
We have investigated the magnetic properties of Fe/Co/Ni-doped ZrO 2 laser ablated thin films in comparison with the known results of Mn-doped ZrO 2 , which is thought to be a promising material for spintronics applications. It is found that doping with a transition metal can induce room temperature ferromagnetism in `fake' diamond. Theoretical analysis based on density functional theory confirms the experimental measurements, by revealing that the magnetic moments of Mn-~and Ni-doped ZrO 2 thin films are much larger than that of Fe- or Co-doped ZrO 2 thin films. Most importantly, our calculations confirm that Mn-~and Ni-doped ZrO 2 show a ferromagnetic ground state in comparison to Co- and Fe-doped ZrO 2 , which favor an antiferromagnetic ground state.