Abstract
ZnSnN2 is a non-toxic and earth-abundant photoabsorber material for flexible photovoltaic devices because of its excellent optoelectronic behavior. However, theoretical studies show that the alkaline-earth metallic (Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs, and Fr) dopants in ZnSnN2, particularly lithium (Li), display shallow-acceptor behavior and improve the performance of ZnSnN2 semiconductors. Orthorhombic phase structure with (002) preferred orientation was observed for Li-doped films and the lattice parameters agree well with reported standards. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) analysis revealed the incorporation of Li in Li:ZnSnN2 films. XPS, the density of states, and Born effective charge analysis revealed the chemical bonding states of Li–ZnSnN2. In contrast to the pristine n-type ZnSnN2, Li:ZnSnN2 thin films showed conductivity with p-type hole concentrations varying between 1.14 × 1020–9.47 × 1019 cm−3 and the highest mobility of 20.03 cm2V−1s−1. Therefore, we obtained p-type conductivity by substituting an organolithium reagent (C₄H₉Li) on the Zn site, which highlights that Li:ZnSnN2 can be effectively used as the photoanode layer for next-generation thin-film solar cell devices.
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