Zinc doping in cosubstituted In2-2xSnxZnxO3-δ

The cosubstituted solid solution In2-2xSnxZnxO3-delta was acceptor-doped with Zn2+ to form In2-x-ySnxZnyO3-delta (y > x). A 4% Zn2+ "excess" can be introduced in In1.6Sn0.2Zn0.2O3-delta while maintaining the bixbyite structure. The n-type conductivity of the doped material decreases with zinc substitution. Zn-doped In1.6Sn0.2Zn0.2O3-delta was annealed under high oxygen pressure (similar to170 atm) to eliminate anion vacancies, Vo(..). Owing to a decrease in carrier concentration by up to 2 orders of magnitude from 10(20) to 10(18) carriers/cm(3), the conductivity of the annealed material decreases. Hall measurements show that the carriers remain as n-type. The results imply the existence of neutral Zn-Vo(..) complexes that prevent the donation of holes by Zn2+.