Beschreibung:
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>X‐ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) experiments on diluted magnetic semiconductor nanocrystals were carried out to study the local electronic structure and magnetic properties of Mn<jats:sup>2+</jats:sup> embedded in the lattice of ZnSe nanoparticles. It is shown that Mn<jats:sup>2+</jats:sup> is exclusively present in the bulk of ZnSe nanoparticles. Neither Mn–Mn coupling nor traces of oxidation to higher Mn oxidation states was observed. This result, which is consistent with EPR spectroscopic data, provides clear proof of the location of Mn<jats:sup>2+</jats:sup> in semiconductor nanoparticles. Further, it is shown that the magnetic ions are highly polarised inside the nanocrystals, where they reach about 50 % of the theoretical value of a pure d<jats:sup>5</jats:sup> state under identical conditions.</jats:p>