A Switchable One‐Compound Diode

Abstract

A diode requires the combination of p‐ and n‐type semiconductors or at least the defined formation of such areas within a given compound. This is a prerequisite for any IT application, energy conversion technology, and electronic semiconductor devices. Since the discovery of the pnp‐switchable compound Ag10Te4Br3 in 2009, it is in principle possible to fabricate a diode from a single material without adjusting the semiconduction type by a defined doping level. Often a structural phase transition accompanied by a dynamic change of charge carriers or a charge density wave within certain substructures are responsible for this effect. Unfortunately, the high pnp‐switching temperature between 364 and 580 K hinders the application of this phenomenon in convenient devices. This effect is far removed from a suitable operation temperature at ambient conditions. Ag18Cu3Te11Cl3 is a room temperature pnp‐switching material and the first single‐material position‐independent diode. It shows the highest ever reported Seebeck coefficient drop that takes place within a few Kelvin. Combined with its low thermal conductivity, it offers great application potential within an accessible and applicable temperature window. Ag18Cu3Te11Cl3 and pnp‐switching materials have the potential for applications and processes where diodes, transistors, or any defined charge separation with junction formation are utilized.

Cu1.5SeyTe1–y (y = 0.2–0.7): A Series of Narrow Band Gap Semiconductors with Low Thermal Conductivity at Ambient Temperature

“…Thermal conductivity calculated according to eq amounts to 0.31 W m –1 K –1 at 303 K and 0.50 W m –1 K –1 at 573 K; the results are shown in Figure e. Those quite low values are around 1 order of magnitude lower than in the bulk binary copper telluride Cu 2 Te (2–4 W m –1 K –1 at RT) and still half of the values for Cu 2 Se (around 1 W m –1 K –1 at RT and 400 K), , whereas they are quite similar to the ones observed for coinage metal polytelluride halides like Ag 10 Te 4 Br 3 or Ag 18 Cu 3 Te 11 Cl 3 (0.14–0.43 W m –1 K –1 ) and Cu 9.1 Te 4 Cl 3 (0.4–0.6 W m –1 K –1 ) . Taking the only stable values for annealed samples into account, the thermal conductivity reaches values between 0.7 and 1 W m –1 K –1 .…”

AgCuS: A Single Material Diode with Fast Switching Times

“…With the realization of one-compound diode devices, like in the case of Ag 18 Cu 3 Te 11 Cl 3 , it has been shown that a diode can be generated on demand and position-independently. [14] Once one-compound diodes are transferred into the aforementioned processes, this aspect may increase the flexibility of the device architecture drastically. With pnp-switching materials applied as one-compound diodes, more versatility can be achieved not only concerning the position, but in principle also in the direction of current flow.…”

“…Using Ag 18 Cu 3 Te 11 Cl 3 , the first one-compound diode device was prepared and the diode formation and performance for this system were reported. [14] Another interesting attempt to fabricate a diode via pn-junctions was the realization of an organic single molecule diode. [15] Here, weakly coupled π-systems with donor and acceptor units that are attached to a rod can result in a diode-like U/I curve at 30 K.…”

Unraveling Sodium-Ion Dynamics in Honeycomb-Layered Na2MgxZn2–xTeO6 Solid Electrolytes with Solid-State NMR

“…= 7.07%) is the preferred isotope over 123 Te (γ = −7.06 × 10 7 rad s –1 T –1 ; Ξ = 26.17%, N.A. = 0.89%) due to its higher natural abundance and frequency ratio, and yields sharp NMR line shapes with excellent resolution over a large chemical shift window of ∼5000 ppm that is sensitive to different electronic structures and Te oxidation states in various organo- and inorganic tellurium compounds. − …”