A high-TC heavy rare earth monoxide semiconductor TbO with a more than half-filled 4f orbital

Abstract

Terbium monoxide, TbO, with an unusual valence state of Tb²⁺ ([Xe]4f⁸5d¹) has been known to exist as a gas phase. In this study, we report a solid phase rock-salt structured TbO in the form of an epitaxial thin film. This TbO is a narrow gap ferromagnetic semiconductor with a bandgap of ∼0.1 eV and high Curie temperature of 231 K, and exhibited negative magnetoresistance of −14% at 9 T and 2 K. Its magnetization steeply increased with the appearance of a wasp-waisted hysteresis curve significantly below the Curie temperature at about 20 K. These results suggested that both 4f and 5d magnetic sublattices were formed at a single magnetic Tb²⁺ site in TbO.