Emergence of ferromagnetism through the metal-insulator transition in undoped indium tin oxide films

We present a detailed study of the emergence of bulk ferromagnetism in low-carrier-density samples of undoped indium tin oxide. We use annealing to increase the density of oxygen vacancies and change the sample morphology without introducing impurities through the metal insulator transition (MIT). We utilize a novel and highly sensitive ``Corbino-disk torque magnetometry'' technique to simultaneously measure the thermodynamic and transport effects of magnetism on the same sample after successive annealing. With increased sample granularity, the carrier density increases, the sample becomes more metallic, and ferromagnetism appears as the resistance approaches the MIT. Ferromagnetism is observed through the detection of magnetization hysteresis, the anomalous Hall effect (AHE), and hysteretic magnetoresistance. A sign change of the AHE as the MIT is approached may elucidate the interplay between the impurity band and the conduction band on the weakly insulating side of the MIT.