Electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, and crystal growth of p-type tellurium films through temperature dependent RF sputtering.

Te thin films have recently received considerable attention owing to its superior electrical and thermoelectric properties. During the deposition process, if the temperature of the substrate is raised, high crystallinity and improved electrical properties can be expected. In this study, we used radio frequency sputtering for Te deposition to study the relationship between the deposition temperature, crystal size, and electrical performance. As the deposition temperature is increased from room temperature to 100 °C, we observed an increase in crystal size from the x-ray diffraction patterns and full-width half maximum calculations. With this grain size increment, the Hall mobility and Seebeck coefficient of the Te thin film increased significantly from 16 to 33 cm2V-1s-1and 50 to 138µV K-1, respectively. This study reveals the potential of a facile fabrication method for enhanced Te thin films using temperature control and highlights the importance of the Te crystal structure in determining the electrical/thermoelectrical properties. These findings are particularly significant for the development of semiconductor material systems for various applications, including thermoelectric devices, CMOS, FET, and solar devices.

Single-Crystal Growth of Cl-Doped n-Type SnS Using SnCl2 Self-Flux.

SnS is a promising photovoltaic semiconductor owing to its suitable band gap energy and high optical absorption coefficient for highly efficient thin film solar cells. The most significant carnage is demonstration of n-type SnS. In this study, Cl-doped n-type single crystals were grown using SnCl2 self-flux method. The obtained crystal was lamellar, with length and width of a few millimeters and thickness ranging between 28 and 39 µm. X-ray diffraction measurements revealed the single crystals had an orthorhombic unit cell. Since the ionic radii of S2- and Cl- are similar, Cl doping did not result in substantial change in lattice parameter. All the elements were homogeneously distributed on a cleaved surface; the Sn/(S + Cl) ratio was 1.00. The crystal was an n-type degenerate semiconductor with a carrier concentration of ∼3 × 1017 cm-3. Hall mobility at 300 K was 252 cm2 V-1 s-1 and reached 363 cm2 V-1 s-1 at 142 K.

First-Principles Study of CuGaO2 Polymorphs: Delafossite α-CuGaO2 and Wurtzite ß-CuGaO2.

The electronic structures of delafossite α-CuGaO2 and wurtzite ß-CuGaO2 were calculated based on density functional theory using the local density approximation functional including the Hubbard correction (LDA+U). The differences in the electronic structure and physical properties between the two polymorphs were investigated in terms of their crystal structures. Three major structural features were found to influence the electronic structure. The first feature is the atomic arrangements of cations. In the conduction band of α-CuGaO2 with a layered structure of Cu2O and Ga2O3, Cu and Ga states do not mix well; the lower part of the conduction band mainly consists of Cu 4s and 4p states, and the upper part consists of Ga 4s and 4p states. By contrast, in ß-CuGaO2, which is composed of CuO4 and GaO4 tetrahedra, Cu and Ga states are well-mixed. The second feature is the coordination environment of Cu atoms; the breaking of degeneracy of Cu 3d orbitals is determined by the crystal field. Dispersion of the Cu 3d valence band of ß-CuGaO2, in which Cu atoms are tetrahedrally coordinated to oxygen atoms, is smaller than those in α-CuGaO2, in which Cu atoms are linearly coordinated to oxygen atoms; this results in a larger absorption coefficient and larger hole effective mass in ß-CuGaO2 than in α-CuGaO2. The interatomic distance between Cu atoms-the third feature-also influences the dispersion of the Cu 3d valence band (i.e., the effective hole mass); the effective hole mass decreases with decreasing interatomic distance between Cu atoms in each structure. The results obtained are valuable for understanding the physical properties of oxide semiconductors containing monovalent copper and silver.

Wurtzite CuGaO2: a new direct and narrow band gap oxide semiconductor applicable as a solar cell absorber.

An oxide semiconductor ß-CuGaO2 with a wurtzite-derived ß-NaFeO2 structure has been synthesized. Structural characterization has been carried out by Rietveld analysis using XRD and SAED, and it was shown that the lattice size is very close to that of zinc oxide. The optical absorption spectrum indicated that the band gap is 1.47 eV, which matches the band gap required to achieve the theoretical maximum conversion efficiency for a single-junction solar cell. The thermoelectromotive force indicated p-type conduction in its intrinsic state. Density functional theory calculations were performed to understand the electronic structure and optical properties of the semiconductor. These calculations indicated that ß-CuGaO2 is a direct semiconductor and intense absorption of light occurs near the band edge. These properties render this new material promising as an absorber in solar cells.

Superconductivity induced by co-doping in quaternary fluoroarsenide CaFeAsF.

A new quaternary fluoroarsenide CaFeAsF with the tetragonal ZrCuSiAs-type structure composed of alternate stacking of (FeAs)delta- and (CaF)delta+ layers was synthesized. CaFeAsF is a poor metal and shows the anomaly at approximately 120 K in temperature dependence of electrical conductivity. The electron doping by the partial replacement of the iron with cobalt suppresses the anomaly and induces the bulk superconductivity (optimal Tc = 22 K for CaFe0.9Co0.1AsF), analogous to recently discovered FeAs-based superconductors. The present results suggest that CaFeAsF is a promising candidate as a parent compound for high Tc superconductors.

Nickel-based oxyphosphide superconductor with a layered crystal structure, LaNiOP.

A layered oxyphosphide, LaNiOP, was synthesized by solid-state reactions. This crystal was confirmed to have a layered structure composed of an alternating stack of (La(3+)O(2-))(+) and (Ni(2+)P(3-))(-). We found that the resulting LaNiOP shows a superconducting transition at approximately 3 K. This material exhibited metallic conduction and Pauli paramagnetism in the temperature range of 4-300 K. The resistivity sharply dropped to zero and the magnetic susceptibility became negative at <4 K, indicating that a superconducting transition occurs. The volume fraction of the superconducting phase estimated from the diamagnetic susceptibility reached approximately 40 vol % at 1.8 K, substantiating that LaNiOP is a bulk superconductor.

Iron-based layered superconductor: LaOFeP.

We report superconductivity in an iron-based layered oxy-pnictide LaOFeP. LaOFeP is composed of an alternate stack of lanthanum oxide (La3+O2-) and iron pnictide (Fe2+P3-) layers. Magnetic and electrical resistivity measurements verify the occurrence of the superconducting transition at approximately 4 K.

Epitaxial film growth and superconducting behavior of sodium-cobalt oxyhydrate, NaxCoO2.yH2O (x approximately 0.3, y approximately 1.3).

We have developed a unique multistep film growth technique, combining reactive solid-phase epitaxy (R-SPE) with an intercalation process, to fabricate epitaxial films of superconducting sodium-cobalt oxyhydrate, Na(0.3)CoO2.1.3H2O. An epitaxial film of Na(0.8)CoO2 grown on an alpha-Al2O3(0001) substrate by R-SPE was subjected to oxidation and hydration treatment, leading to the formation of a Na(0.3)CoO2.1.3H2O epitaxial film. The film exhibited metallic electrical resistivity with a superconducting transition at 4 K, similar to that of bulk single crystals. The present technique is suitable and probably the only method for the epitaxial growth of superconducting Na(0.3)CoO2.1.3H2O.