Band structures of ZnTe:O alloys with isolated oxygen and with clustered oxygen impurities

Abstract

Abstract First-principles calculations reveal that band structures of ZnTe:O alloys highly depend on the configuration of oxygen in the alloy. For alloys with isolated oxygen, the calculated band structure shows the formation of intermediate states between valence and conduction band and the shift of conduction band to higher energy level. It expands the gap between valence and conduction band. For alloys with clustered oxygen, the formation of intermediate band is still observed, while the gap between valence and conduction band is decreased. For alloys with oxygen impurities adjacent to Zn vacancy, the band structure only shows the decrease of the gap between valence and conduction band without the formation of any intermediate band. These results suggest the critical role of Zn–O bonding in determining the energy level of the impurity states. On the basis of our results, a possible band engineering approach is suggested in order to improve the performance of ZnTe:O alloy as intermediate band solar adsorbent.