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Title: Pathway to oxide photovoltaics via band-structure engineering of SnO

Abstract

All-oxide photovoltaics could open rapidly scalable manufacturing routes, if only oxide materials with suitable electronic and optical properties were developed. SnO has exceptional doping and transport properties among oxides, but suffers from a strongly indirect band gap. Here, we address this shortcoming by band-structure engineering through isovalent but heterostructural alloying with divalent cations (Mg, Ca, Sr, and Zn). Furthermore, using first-principles calculations, we show that suitable band gaps and optical properties close to that of direct semiconductors are achievable, while the comparatively small effective masses are preserved in the alloys. Initial thin film synthesis and characterization support the feasibility of the approach.

Authors:
; ; ; ORCiD logo
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
OSTI Identifier:
1328528
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1329527; OSTI ID: 1420533
Report Number(s):
NREL/JA-5K00-67309
Journal ID: ISSN 2166-532X
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC36-08GO28308
Resource Type:
Published Article
Journal Name:
APL Materials
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Name: APL Materials Journal Volume: 4 Journal Issue: 10; Journal ID: ISSN 2166-532X
Publisher:
American Institute of Physics
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
14 SOLAR ENERGY; 36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; zinc; photonic bandgap materials; band structure; absorption spectra; alloys

Citation Formats

Peng, Haowei, Bikowski, Andre, Zakutayev, Andriy, and Lany, Stephan. Pathway to oxide photovoltaics via band-structure engineering of SnO. United States: N. p., 2016. Web. doi:10.1063/1.4963661.
Peng, Haowei, Bikowski, Andre, Zakutayev, Andriy, & Lany, Stephan. Pathway to oxide photovoltaics via band-structure engineering of SnO. United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4963661
Peng, Haowei, Bikowski, Andre, Zakutayev, Andriy, and Lany, Stephan. Sat . "Pathway to oxide photovoltaics via band-structure engineering of SnO". United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4963661.
@article{osti_1328528,
title = {Pathway to oxide photovoltaics via band-structure engineering of SnO},
author = {Peng, Haowei and Bikowski, Andre and Zakutayev, Andriy and Lany, Stephan},
abstractNote = {All-oxide photovoltaics could open rapidly scalable manufacturing routes, if only oxide materials with suitable electronic and optical properties were developed. SnO has exceptional doping and transport properties among oxides, but suffers from a strongly indirect band gap. Here, we address this shortcoming by band-structure engineering through isovalent but heterostructural alloying with divalent cations (Mg, Ca, Sr, and Zn). Furthermore, using first-principles calculations, we show that suitable band gaps and optical properties close to that of direct semiconductors are achievable, while the comparatively small effective masses are preserved in the alloys. Initial thin film synthesis and characterization support the feasibility of the approach.},
doi = {10.1063/1.4963661},
journal = {APL Materials},
number = 10,
volume = 4,
place = {United States},
year = {Sat Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 2016},
month = {Sat Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 2016}
}

Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record
https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4963661

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Cited by: 19 works
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