Ferromagnetism and spin polarized charge carriers in In₂O₃ thin films

We present evidence for spin polarized charge carriers in In$_2$O$_3$ films. Both In$_2$O$_3$ and Cr doped In$_2$O$_3$ films exhibit room temperature ferromagnetism after vacuum annealing, with a saturation moment of approximately 0.5 emu/cm$^3$. We used Point Contact Andreev Reflection measurements to directly determine the spin polarization, which was found to be approximately 50$\pm$5% for both compositions. These results are consistent with suggestions that the ferromagnetism observed in certain oxide semiconductors may be carrier mediated.