Probing the defect states of LuN1−δ: An experimental and computational study
S. Devese,
K. Van Koughnet,
R. G. Buckley,
F. Natali,
P. P. Murmu,
E.-M. Anton,
B. J. Ruck,
W. F. Holmes-Hewett
Affiliations
S. Devese
The MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, P.O. Box 600, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
K. Van Koughnet
The MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, P.O. Box 600, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
R. G. Buckley
The MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, P.O. Box 600, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
F. Natali
The MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, P.O. Box 600, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
P. P. Murmu
National Isotope Centre, GNS Science, 30 Gracefield Road, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
E.-M. Anton
The MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, P.O. Box 600, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
B. J. Ruck
The MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, P.O. Box 600, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
W. F. Holmes-Hewett
The MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, P.O. Box 600, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
We report electrical transport and optical spectroscopy measurements on LuN thin films variously doped with nitrogen vacancies along with the computed band structures of stoichiometric and nitrogen vacancy doped LuN. LuN has been the subject of several recent computational studies; however, the most recent experimental studies regarding its electronic properties are already over four decades old. Here, we bridge the void between computation and experiment with a combined study of LuN focusing on its electronic properties. We find that LuN is a semiconductor with an optical bandgap of ∼1.7 eV. Its conductivity can be controlled by nitrogen vacancy doping, which results in defect states at the conduction band minimum and valence band maximum. These results not only provide information on LuN but also help underpin understanding of the electronic properties of the entire rare-earth nitride series.
