Ilmenite and amorphous SnTiO3 as p-type oxide semiconductors

Abstract

A Sn²⁺ based oxide, ilmenite SnTiO₃, is investigated as a potential p-type oxide. Due to Sn²⁺ chemistry, ilmenite SnTiO₃ shows a dispersive valence band with a wide band gap of 2.4 eV and a high hole mobility of ∼60 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹. Thermodynamic studies confirm its phase stability and synthesizability. Defect calculations demonstrate its high hole dopability. Further band alignment calculations show its shallow valence band edge suitable for metal contact. Amorphous phase SnTiO₃ is revealed to be a high mobility hole-dopable oxide. The results suggest that ilmenite and amorphous SnTiO₃ is an experimentally realizable p-type oxide promising for future oxide electronics.