Electronic properties of p-type BaSnO₃ thin films

Cubic perovskite oxides are attracting wide attention for applications in electronics and optoelectronics due to their high electronic mobility, however, realization of p-type conductivity in these oxides is still a matter. Barium stannate (BaSnO₃) is one of such materials, wherein low-amount of lanthanum-doping can induce an extremely high room-temperature electron mobility. In this work, anion-doping strategy was explored to realize the p-type conductivity in BaSnO₃, and the underlying physics of transport was investigated. It is found that nitrogen substitution for oxygen can induce the p-type conductivity in BaSnO₃ thin films. By analyzing the temperature-dependent resistance and negative magnetoresistance data, Efros-Shklovskii variable-range hopping conduction is identified as the dominant transport mechanism in p-type BaSnO₃ thin films. Additionally, nitrogen-doped BaSnO₃ homojunctions exhibit good rectifying and photo-response properties. This study provides an alternative strategy for realizing the p-type conductivity in stannate-based perovskite oxides, and is helpful for designing the properties of stannate-based devices.