Zinc-Stabilized Manganese Telluride with Wurtzite Crystal Structure
[1];
[3];
[3]
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Fudan Univ., Shanghai (China)
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States)
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Fudan Univ., Shanghai (China)
Alloying of semiconductors with similar crystal structures is often used to fine-tune materials properties for optoelectronic applications. However, examples of semiconductor alloys between compounds with two different crystal structures, where properties are changing dramatically as a function of composition, are much rarer. Even more unusual are such heterostructural alloys where the structure and properties can be changed with only a small amount of substitution (<10%). One exception is yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) with cubic fluorite crystal structure, used for a wide range of applications. Here, we report on experimental observation of such unusual behavior in zinc-stabilized manganese telluride (ZSMT), and on theoretical explanation of its compositional stabilization in the wurtzite crystal structure. Thin films of Mn1-xZnxTe alloys synthesized at 400 degrees C change from the nickeline (NC) to the wurtzite (WZ) crystal structure at x as low as 0.08. Theoretical calculations indicate that this structural transition occurs due to small MnTe polymorph energy differences, and strong preference of Zn atoms to adopt tetrahedral vs octahedral coordination environment. The calculated 1 eV increase of the band gap from NC to WZ structure is consistent with the experimental measurements on ZSMT films. These measurements also indicate 1000-10,000 times lower conductivity than the nickeline MnTe, due to low ZSMT hole concentration. Overall, the wide band gap and low hole density make ZSMT a promising candidate for p-type transparent transistors and other optoelectronic applications.
- Research Organization:
- Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Center for Next Generation of Materials by Design: Incorporating Metastability (CNGMD); National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC36-08GO28308
- OSTI ID:
- 1466562
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/JA-5K00-71969
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Physical Chemistry. C, Vol. 122, Issue 32; ISSN 1932-7447
- Publisher:
- American Chemical SocietyCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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