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Introducing Cd into ZnO allows for bandgap engineering, potentially with particularly interesting properties to observe in compositionally graded samples. In this work, compositionally graded Zn1–xCdxO samples with 0 ≤ x <0.16 were made using metal organic vapour phase epitaxy. The chemical composition was studied using scanning transmission electron microscopy, while the band structure of the samples was investigated using a combination of cathodoluminescence spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It is found that the reduction of the bandgap in our samples is caused by changes in the conduction band. The position of the Fermi level relative to the vacuum level, i.e., the workfunction, was also found to change upon addition of Cd, giving an apparent shift in the valence band when evaluated from the XPS valence spectra. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Making a systematic effort, we have developed single-crystalline ZnSnN2 on ZnO (0001) by reactive magnetron co-sputtering. Epitaxial growth was achieved at 350 °C by co-sputtering from metal targets in a nitrogen atmosphere, and confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements. TEM verified that the layers are single-crystalline of hexagonal phase, exhibiting an epitaxial relationship with the substrate described by: [11−20]ZnSnN2//[11−20]ZnO and [0001]ZnSnN2//[0001]ZnO. The screw-type threading dislocations originating from the ZnSnN2/ZnO interface were identified as the dominant extended defects. More specifically, we report a pioneering measurement of the dislocation density in this material of 1.5 × 1011 cm−2. Even though there are no literature data for direct comparison, such values are typical of heteroepitaxial growth of III-nitride layers without applying defect density reduction strategies. The films demonstrated a high electron mobility of 39 cm2 V−1 s−1 and 63 cm2 V−1 s−1 for stoichiometric and Zn-rich layers, respectively, while the electron carrier density remained in the low 1019 cm−3 range as determined by the Hall effect measurements at room temperature. Optical bandgaps of 1.86 eV and 1.72 eV were determined for the stoichiometric and Zn-rich samples, respectively. As such, we conclude that ZnSnN2 is an earth-abundant, environmentally-friendly semiconductor and is a promising candidate for cost efficient components in optoelectronics and photovoltaics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]