Magnesium, nitrogen codoped Cr2O3: A p-type transparent conducting oxide

A p-type transparent conductive oxide (TCO) was synthesised by codoping of poorly conducting chromium oxide (Cr2O3) with magnesium and nitrogen. We demonstrated that the codoping produced a TCO with good figure of merit despite using spray pyrolysis for deposition. The nitrogen enhances the specular transparency of the films in the visible range (400-700 nm), and Mg improves the conductivity while retaining the p-type character of the material. Co-doping with both elements produces a p-type oxide with a low resistivity of 3 Omega cm and transmission up to 65% for a 150 nm thick film. A comparison with other known p-type materials is given. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3638461]