Zinc nitride as a potential high-mobility transparent conductor

Cao, Xiang; Ninomiya, Yoshihiko; Yamada, Naoomi

doi:10.1002/pssa.201600472

Cited by 11 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…First principle studies predicted m c * values to be as small as ~0.1 m 0 in both ordered- and disordered ZnSnN 2 4 , 9 , 25 , 26 . The predicted m c * values are comparable to those in other III–V and Zn-based nitride semiconductors including InN (0.055 m 0 ) 27 , GaN (0.2 m 0 ) 28 , GaAs (0.083 m 0 ) 29 , and Zn 3 N 2 (0.08 m 0 ) 30 . Although small m c * values generally leads to high electron mobility ( μ) , μ values in the ZnSnN 2 epilayers have been reported to be less than or equal to 10 cm 2 V −1 s −1 9 , 10 .…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 70%

Conduction-band effective mass and bandgap of ZnSnN2 earth-abundant solar absorber

Cao

Kawamura

Ninomiya

et al. 2017

Sci Rep

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Pseudo III-V nitride ZnSnN2 is an earth-abundant semiconductor with a high optical absorption coefficient in the solar spectrum. Its bandgap can be tuned by controlling the cation sublattice disorder. Thus, it is a potential candidate for photovoltaic absorber materials. However, its important basic properties such as the intrinsic bandgap and effective mass have not yet been quantitatively determined. This paper presents a detailed optical absorption analysis of disordered ZnSnN2 degenerately doped with oxygen (ZnSnN2−xOx) in the ultraviolet to infrared region to determine the conduction-band effective mass (m c *) and intrinsic bandgap (E g). ZnSnN2−xOx epilayers are n-type degenerate semiconductors, which exhibit clear free-electron absorption in the infrared region. By analysing the free-electron absorption using the Drude model, m c * was determined to be (0.37 ± 0.05)m 0 (m 0 denotes the free electron mass). The fundamental absorption edge in the visible to ultraviolet region shows a blue shift with increasing electron density. The analysis of the blue shift in the framework of the Burstein-Moss effect gives the E g value of 0.94 ± 0.02 eV. We believe that the findings of this study will provide important information to establish this material as a photovoltaic absorber.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 70%

Conduction-band effective mass and bandgap of ZnSnN2 earth-abundant solar absorber

Cao

Kawamura

Ninomiya

et al. 2017

Sci Rep

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“…Exceeding the degradation temperature of amides within ammonothermal syntheses could afford crystal growth of other promising nitride materials as well. For instance, Zn 3 N 2 represents an intriguing narrow‐gap semiconductor material featuring small carrier effective masses and high carrier mobility . Supposable intermediates in ammonobasic and ‐acidic systems were already reported, while its ammonothermal synthesis was assumed to require considerably higher process temperatures .…”

Section: Future Challenges and Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…For instance, Zn 3 N 2 represents an intriguing narrow-gap semiconductor material featuring small carriere ffective masses and high carrier mobility. [109,168] Supposable intermediates in ammonobasic and -acidic systemsw ere already reported, while its ammonothermal synthesis was assumed to requirec onsiderably higherp rocess temperatures. [169,170] Moreover,n ew elementc ombinations and mineralizer systems, along with an extension of parameter limits, could promotet he discovery of novel multinaryn itride materials as our recent studies already demonstrated.…”

Section: Future Challenges and Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ammonothermal Synthesis of Nitrides: Recent Developments and Future Perspectives

Häusler

Schnick

2018

Chemistry A European J

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Nitrides represent an intriguing class of functional materials with a broad range of application fields. Within the past decade, the ammonothermal method became increasingly attractive for the synthesis and crystal growth of nitride materials. The ammonothermal approach proved to be eminently suitable for the growth of bulk III-nitride semiconductors like GaN, and furthermore provided access to numerous ternary and multinary nitrides and oxonitrides with promising optical and electronic properties. In this minireview, we will shed light on the latest research findings covering the synthesis of nitrides by this method. An overview of synthesis strategies for binary, ternary, and multinary nitrides and oxonitrides, as well as their properties and potential applications will be given. The recent development of autoclave technologies for syntheses at high temperatures and pressures, in situ methods for investigations of crystallization processes, and solubility measurements by ultrasonic velocity experiments is briefly reviewed as well. In conclusion, challenges and future perspectives regarding the synthesis and crystal growth of novel nitrides, as well as the advancement of autoclave techniques are discussed.

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“…sputt.) are also shown by points [14,16,18,70]. A horizontal arrow shows a range of experimentally reported electron carrier concentration, and a vertical one the range of the corresponding optical gaps.…”

Section: B Carrier-induced Optical-gap Variationmentioning

confidence: 97%

Carrier-Induced Band-Gap Variation and Point Defects in Zn3N2 from First Principles

et al. 2017

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The zinc nitride Zn 3 N 2 is composed of inexpensive and earth-abundant Zn and N elements and shows high electron mobility exceeding 100 cm 2 V −1 s −1 . Although various technological applications of Zn 3 N 2 have been suggested so far, the synthesis of high-quality Zn 3 N 2 samples, especially single crystals, is still challenging, and therefore its basic properties are not yet well understood. Indeed, the reported band gaps of as-grown Zn 3 N 2 widely scatter from 0.85 to 3.2 eV. In this study, we investigate the large gap variation of Zn 3 N 2 in terms of the Burstein-Moss (BM) effect and point-defect energetics using first-principles calculations. First, we discuss the relation between electron carrier concentration and optical gaps based on the electronic structure obtained using the Heyd-Scuseria-Ernzerhof hybrid functional. The calculated fundamental band gap is 0.84 eV in a direct-type band structure. Second, thermodynamic stability of Zn 3 N 2 is assessed using the ideal-gas model in conjunction with the rigid-rotor model for gas phases and firstprinciples phonon calculations for solid phases. Third, carrier generation and compensation by native point defects and unintentionally introduced oxygen and hydrogen impurities are discussed. The results suggest that a significant BM shift occurs mainly due to oxygen substitutions on nitrogen sites and hydrogen interstitials. However, gaps larger than 2.0 eV would not be due to the BM shift because of the Fermi-level pinning caused by acceptorlike zinc vacancies and hydrogen-on-zinc impurities. Furthermore, we discuss details of peculiar defects such as a nitrogen-on-zinc antisite with azidelike atomic and electronic structures.

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Zinc nitride as a potential high-mobility transparent conductor

Cited by 11 publications

References 38 publications

Conduction-band effective mass and bandgap of ZnSnN2 earth-abundant solar absorber

Conduction-band effective mass and bandgap of ZnSnN2 earth-abundant solar absorber

Ammonothermal Synthesis of Nitrides: Recent Developments and Future Perspectives

Carrier-Induced Band-Gap Variation and Point Defects in Zn3N2 from First Principles

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