Effect of Chemical Precursors On the Optical and Electrical Properties of p-Type Transparent Conducting Cr2O3:(Mg,N)

Cr2O3:(Mg,N) has been reported as a p-type transparent conducting oxide. In this\ncontribution the effect of each precursor used for the deposition by spray-pyrolysis,\nwill be explored and their role in determining the optical and electrical properties of\nCr2O3 will be outlined. A correlation between the structural, electrical, and optical\nproperties upon introducing nitrogen precursors has been established. In particular it\nhas been shown that the presence of ammonium salts in the deposition environment\nresults in less absorbing films. By combining optical measurements and NEXAFS\nstudies, a mechanism is proposed to explain the change in the optical properties.\nMoreover, it is shown that the presence of the nitrate moiety in the reaction\nenvironment is necessary to improve the electrical conductivity of the deposited films.\nThe reaction of the nitrate moiety with the ammonium moiety has been proposed as\nthe mechanism to explain the boost in conductivity.