Structural and Optoelectronic Characterization of RF Sputtered ZnSnN_2

Abstract

ZnSnN_2, a new earth-abundant semiconductor, is synthesized and characterized for use as a photovoltaic absorber material. Results confirm the predicted orthorhombic Pna2_1 crystal structure in RF sputtered thin films. Additionally, optical measurements reveal a direct bandgap of about 2 eV, which is larger than our calculated bandgap of 1.42 eV due to the Burstein-Moss effect