Influence of barium doping on structural and magnetic properties of c-ZnO epitaxial layers grown on c-GaN/sapphire templates

•Structural, optical and magnetic properties of Ba incorporated ZnO epitaxial layers.•Engineering of defects in ZnO through incorporation of big ions like Ba.•Development of uniaxial strain along the growth direction (c-axis) due to Ba incorporation.•Investigation of defect incorporation using RBS and SIMS spectroscopy.