Magnetic and transport studies of core-shell nanorods based on metallic oxide ferromagnet SrRuO₃

This study presents the synthesis of perovskite metal-semiconductor core-shell heterostructures by sputtering SrRuO₃ (SRO) shell layer on vertically aligned hydrothermally produced ZnO nanorods. Compared to the two-dimensional SRO films, the magnetic behaviors of the SRO shells on ZnO nanorods are morphology and thickness dependent, as reflected by the magnetic isotropy effects and the appearance of double-step magnetic hysteresis loops caused by nanograin-induced disorder and uncompensated spin at the surface and interface. The appearance of low-temperature resistance minimum and the good fitting of the low-temperature resistance data to a theoretical model establish the emergence of weak localization effect in the SRO shells, whose strength can be reinforced by a magnetic field. In addition, an apparent low-resistance Ohmic contact was realized in the ZnO/SRO heterojunctions due to the lower work function of the SRO. This, together with the absence of the Schottky barrier at the interface, demonstrates that the ZnO/SRO nanostructures could hold great promise for applications in advanced electron field emitters.