Deep-ultraviolet transparent conducting SrSnO 3 via heterostructure design

• Published in: Science advances Vol. 10; no. 44
• Main Authors: Liu, Fengdeng, Yang, Zhifei, Abramovitch, David, Guo, Silu, Mkhoyan, K. Andre, Bernardi, Marco, Jalan, Bharat
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01-11-2024
• ISSN: 2375-2548; 2375-2548
• DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adq7892

Exploration and advancements in ultrawide bandgap (UWBG) semiconductors are pivotal for next-generation high-power electronics and deep-ultraviolet (DUV) optoelectronics. Here, we used a thin heterostructure design to facilitate high conductivity due to the low electron mass and relatively weak electron-phonon coupling, while the atomically thin films ensured high transparency. We used a heterostructure comprising SrSnO 3 /La:SrSnO 3 /GdScO 3 (110), and applied electrostatic gating, which allow us to effectively separate charge carriers in SrSnO 3 from dopants and achieve phonon-limited transport behavior in strain-stabilized tetragonal SrSnO 3 . This led to a modulation of carrier density from 10 18 to 10 20 cm −3 , with room temperature mobilities ranging from 40 to 140 cm 2 V −1 s −1 . The phonon-limited mobility, calculated from first principles, closely matched experimental results, suggesting that room temperature mobility could be further increased with higher electron density. In addition, the sample exhibited 85% optical transparency at a 300-nm wavelength. These findings highlight the potential of heterostructure design for transparent UWBG semiconductor applications, especially in DUV regime.
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