Charge transfer and mobility enhancement at CdO/SnTe heterointerfaces

We report a study of the effects of charge transfer on electrical properties of CdO/SnTe heterostructures. A series of structures with variable SnTe thicknesses were deposited by RF magnetron sputtering. Because of an extreme type III band offset with the valence band edge of SnTe located at 1.5 eV above the conduction band edge of CdO, a large charge transfer is expected at the interface of the CdO/SnTe heterostructure. The electrical properties of the heterostructures are analyzed using a multilayer charge transport model. The analysis indicates a large 4-fold enhancement of the CdO electron mobility at the interface with SnTe. The mobility enhancement is attributed to reduction of the charge center scattering through neutralization of the donor-like defects responsible for the Fermi level pinning at the CdO/SnTe interface. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.