P-type electrical conduction in transparent thin films of CuAlO2

Hiroshi Kawazoe (), Masahiro Yasukawa, Hiroyuki Hyodo, Masaaki Kurita, Hiroshi Yanagi and Hideo Hosono
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Hiroshi Kawazoe: Materials and Structures Laboratory, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Nagatsuta
Masahiro Yasukawa: National Industrial Research Institute of Nagoya
Hiroyuki Hyodo: Materials and Structures Laboratory, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Nagatsuta
Masaaki Kurita: Materials and Structures Laboratory, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Nagatsuta
Hiroshi Yanagi: Materials and Structures Laboratory, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Nagatsuta
Hideo Hosono: Materials and Structures Laboratory, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Nagatsuta

Nature, 1997, vol. 389, issue 6654, 939-942

Abstract: Abstract Optically transparent oxides tend to be electrical insulators, by virtue of their large electronic bandgap (⩾3.1 eV). The most notable exceptions are doped versions of the oxides In2O3, SnO2 and ZnO—all n-type (electron) conductors—which are widely used as the transparent electrodes in flat-panel displays1,2. On the other hand, no transparent oxide exhibiting high p-type (hole) conductivity is known to exist, whereas such materials could open the way to a range of novel applications. For example, a combination of the two types of transparent conductor in the form of a pn junction could lead to a ‘functional’ window that transmits visible light yet generates electricity in response to the absorption of ultraviolet photons. Here we describe a strategy for identifying oxide materials that should combine p-type conductivity with good optical transparency. We illustrate the potential of this approach by reporting the properties of thin films of CuAlO2, a transparent oxide having room-temperature p-type conductivity up to 1 S cm−1. Although the conductivity of our candidate material is significantly lower than that observed for the best n-type conducting oxides, it is sufficient for some applications, and demonstrates that the development of transparent p-type conductors is not an insurmountable goal.

Date: 1997
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DOI: 10.1038/40087

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