The mechanism of ferromagnetic ordering in ZrOx film is investigated by both experimental observation and theoretical calculation. Magnetic measurements reveal that the magnetic properties can be adjusted from diamagnetism to ferromagnetism by varying the oxygen stoichiometry. We find that oxygen-rich defects can be responsible for the observed magnetic properties by taking the measurements of x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and room temperature photoluminescence spectra. Density functional theory calculations further confirm that the ferromagnetic order is mainly driven by the exchange interaction between the oxygen antisites and the neighboring anion atoms.

A number of zinc oxide (ZnO) films are deposited on silicon substrates using the magnetron sputtering method. After undergoing thermal treatment under different conditions, those films exhibit hexagonal wurtzite structures and different photoluminescent characteristics. Besides the notable ultraviolet emission, which is related to the free exciton effect, a distinct blue fluorescence around 475 nm is found in some special samples. The blue photoluminescence emission of the ZnO film is believed to be caused by oxygen vacancies.