Semiconducting oxides

Semiconducting oxides are amongst the most widely studied and topical materials in contemporary condensed matter science, with interest being driven both by the fundamental challenges posed by their electronic and magnetic structures and properties, and by the wide range of applications, including those in catalysis and electronic devices. This special section aims to highlight recent developments in the physics of these materials, and to show the link between developing fundamental understanding and key application areas of oxide semiconductors.

Several aspects of the physics of this wide and expanding range of materials are explored in this special section. Transparent semiconducting oxides have a growing role in several technologies, but challenges remain in understanding their electronic structure and the physics of charge carriers. A related problem concerns the nature of redox processes and the reactions which interconvert defects and charge carriers—a key issue which may limit the extent to which doping strategies may be used to alter electronic properties. The magnetic structures of the materials pose several challenges, while surface structures and properties are vital in controlling catalytic properties, including photochemical processes.

The field profits from and exploits a wide range of contemporary physical techniques—both experimental and theoretical. Indeed, the interplay between experiment and computation is a key aspect of contemporary work. A number of articles describe applications of computational methods whose use, especially in modelling properties of defects in these materials, has a long and successful history.

Several papers in this special section relate to work presented at a symposium within the European Materials Research Society (EMRS) meeting held in Warsaw in September 2010, and we are grateful to the EMRS for supporting this symposium. We would also like to thank the editorial staff of Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter for their help in producing this special section. We hope that it conveys some of the excitement and significance of the field.

Semiconducting oxides contents

Chemical bonding in copper-based transparent conducting oxides: CuMO₂ (M = In, Ga, Sc) K G Godinho, B J Morgan, J P Allen, D O Scanlon and G W Watson

Electrical properties of (Ba, Sr)TiO₃ thin films with Pt and ITO electrodes: dielectric and rectifying behaviour Shunyi Li, Cosmina Ghinea, Thorsten J M Bayer, Markus Motzko, Robert Schafranek and Andreas Klein

Orientation dependent ionization potential of In₂O₃: a natural source for inhomogeneous barrier formation at electrode interfaces in organic electronics Mareike V Hohmann, Péter Ágoston, André Wachau, Thorsten J M Bayer, Joachim Brötz, Karsten Albe and Andreas Klein

Cathodoluminescence studies of electron irradiation effects in n-type ZnO Casey Schwarz, Yuqing Lin, Max Shathkin, Elena Flitsiyan and Leonid Chernyak

Resonant Raman scattering in ZnO:Mn and ZnO:Mn:Al thin films grown by RF sputtering M F Cerqueira, M I Vasilevskiy, F Oliveira, A G Rolo, T Viseu, J Ayres de Campos, E Alves and R Correia

Structure and electrical properties of nanoparticulate tungsten oxide prepared by microwave plasma synthesis M Sagmeister, M Postl, U Brossmann, E J W List, A Klug, I Letofsky-Papst, D V Szabó and R Würschum

Charge compensation in trivalent cation doped bulk rutile TiO₂ Anna Iwaszuk and Michael Nolan

Deep level transient spectroscopy studies of n-type ZnO single crystals grown by different techniques L Scheffler, Vl Kolkovsky, E V Lavrov and J Weber

Microstructural and conductivity changes induced by annealing of ZnO:B thin films deposited by chemical vapour deposition C David, T Girardeau, F Paumier, D Eyidi, B Lacroix, N Papathanasiou, B P Tinkham, P Guérin and M Marteau

Multi-component transparent conducting oxides: progress in materials modelling Aron Walsh, Juarez L F Da Silva and Su-Huai Wei

Thickness dependence of the strain, band gap and transport properties of epitaxial In₂O₃ thin films grown on Y-stabilised ZrO₂(111) K H L Zhang, V K Lazarov, T D Veal, F E Oropeza, C F McConville, R G Egdell and A Walsh

Hydrogenated cation vacancies in semiconducting oxides J B Varley, H Peelaers, A Janotti and C G Van de Walle

Reactive force field simulation of proton diffusion in BaZrO₃ using an empirical valence bond approach Paolo Raiteri, Julian D Gale and Giovanni Bussi

Conductivity in transparent oxide semiconductors P D C King and T D Veal

A theoretical study of a ZnO graphene analogue: adsorption on Ag(111) and hydrogen transport Ilker Demiroglu, Daniele Stradi, Francesc Illas and Stefan T Bromley

The interplay between dopants and oxygen vacancies in the magnetism of V-doped TiO₂ Ricardo Grau-Crespo and Udo Schwingenschlögl

Electron and hole stability in GaN and ZnO Aron Walsh, C Richard A Catlow, Martina Miskufova and Alexey A Sokol

Holes bound as small polarons to acceptor defects in oxide materials: why are their thermal ionization energies so high? O F Schirmer