Synthesis and characterization of (Sn,Zn)O alloys
Abstract
SnO exhibits electrical properties that render it promising for solar energy conversion applications, but it also has a strongly indirect band gap. Recent theoretical calculations predict that this disadvantage can be mitigated by isovalent alloying with other group-II oxides such as ZnO. Here, we synthesized new metastable isovalent (Sn,Zn)O alloy thin films by combinatorial reactive co-sputtering and characterized their structural, optical and electrical properties. The alloying of ZnO into SnO leads to a change of the valence state of the tin from Sn0 via Sn2+ to Sn4+, which can be counteracted by reducing the oxygen partial pressure during the deposition. The optical characterization of the smooth <10 at. % Sn1-xZnxO thin films showed an increase in the absorption coefficient in the range from 1 to 2 eV, which is consistent with the theoretical predictions for the isovalent alloying. However, the experimentally observed alloying effect may be convoluted with the effect of local variations of the Sn oxidation state. As a result, this effect would have to be minimized to improve the (Sn,Zn)O optical and electrical properties for their use as absorbers in solar energy conversion applications.
- Authors:
-
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1332181
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/JA-5K00-66842
Journal ID: ISSN 0897-4756
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC36-08GO28308
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Chemistry of Materials
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 28; Journal Issue: 21; Journal ID: ISSN 0897-4756
- Publisher:
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 14 SOLAR ENERGY; 36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; thin films; characterization; synthesis
Citation Formats
Bikowski, Andre, Holder, Aaron, Peng, Haowei, Siol, Sebastian, Norman, Andrew, Lany, Stephan, and Zakutayev, Andriy. Synthesis and characterization of (Sn,Zn)O alloys. United States: N. p., 2016.
Web. doi:10.1021/acs.chemmater.6b02968.
Bikowski, Andre, Holder, Aaron, Peng, Haowei, Siol, Sebastian, Norman, Andrew, Lany, Stephan, & Zakutayev, Andriy. Synthesis and characterization of (Sn,Zn)O alloys. United States. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemmater.6b02968
Bikowski, Andre, Holder, Aaron, Peng, Haowei, Siol, Sebastian, Norman, Andrew, Lany, Stephan, and Zakutayev, Andriy. Thu .
"Synthesis and characterization of (Sn,Zn)O alloys". United States. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemmater.6b02968. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1332181.
@article{osti_1332181,
title = {Synthesis and characterization of (Sn,Zn)O alloys},
author = {Bikowski, Andre and Holder, Aaron and Peng, Haowei and Siol, Sebastian and Norman, Andrew and Lany, Stephan and Zakutayev, Andriy},
abstractNote = {SnO exhibits electrical properties that render it promising for solar energy conversion applications, but it also has a strongly indirect band gap. Recent theoretical calculations predict that this disadvantage can be mitigated by isovalent alloying with other group-II oxides such as ZnO. Here, we synthesized new metastable isovalent (Sn,Zn)O alloy thin films by combinatorial reactive co-sputtering and characterized their structural, optical and electrical properties. The alloying of ZnO into SnO leads to a change of the valence state of the tin from Sn0 via Sn2+ to Sn4+, which can be counteracted by reducing the oxygen partial pressure during the deposition. The optical characterization of the smooth <10 at. % Sn1-xZnxO thin films showed an increase in the absorption coefficient in the range from 1 to 2 eV, which is consistent with the theoretical predictions for the isovalent alloying. However, the experimentally observed alloying effect may be convoluted with the effect of local variations of the Sn oxidation state. As a result, this effect would have to be minimized to improve the (Sn,Zn)O optical and electrical properties for their use as absorbers in solar energy conversion applications.},
doi = {10.1021/acs.chemmater.6b02968},
journal = {Chemistry of Materials},
number = 21,
volume = 28,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Sep 29 00:00:00 EDT 2016},
month = {Thu Sep 29 00:00:00 EDT 2016}
}
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