Indium nitride

Indium nitride
Other names

Indium(III) nitride
Identifiers
CAS number 25617-98-5 Y
ChemSpider 105058 Y
Jmol-3D images Image 1
Properties
Molecular formula InN
Molar mass 128.83 g/mol
Appearance black powder
Density 6.81 g/cm3
Melting point

1100 ºC
Solubility in water hydrolysis
Band gap 0.65 eV (300 K)
Electron mobility 3200 cm2/(V*s) (300 K)
Thermal conductivity 0.45 W/(cm*K) (300 K)
Refractive index (nD) 2.9
Structure
Crystal structure Wurtzite (hexagonal)
Space group C46v-P63mc
Coordination
geometry		 Tetrahedral
Hazards
MSDS External MSDS
EU Index Not listed
Main hazards Irritant, hydrolysis to ammonia
Related compounds
Other anions Indium phosphide
Indium arsenide
Indium antimonide
Other cations Boron nitride
Aluminium nitride
Gallium nitride
Related compounds Indium gallium nitride
Indium gallium aluminium nitride
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Except where noted otherwise, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C, 100 kPa)
Infobox references

Indium nitride (InN) is a small bandgap semiconductor material which has potential application in solar cells and high speed electronics.[1]

The bandgap of InN has now been established as ~0.7 eV depending on temperature[2] (the obsolete value is 1.97 eV). The effective electron mass has been recently determined by high magnetic field measurements [3], [4] m*=0.055 m0. Alloyed with GaN, the ternary system InGaN has a direct bandgap span from the infrared (0.65 eV) to the ultraviolet (3.4 eV).

Currently there is research into developing solar cells using the nitride based semiconductors. Using the alloy indium gallium nitride (InGaN), an optical match to the solar spectrum is obtained. The bandgap of InN allows a wavelengths as long as 1900 nm to be utilized. However, there are many difficulties to be overcome if such solar cells are to become a commercial reality. p-type doping of InN and indium-rich InGaN is one of the biggest challenges. Heteroepitaxial growth of InN with other nitrides (GaN, AlN) has proved to be difficult.

Thin polycrystalline films of indium nitride can be highly conductive and even superconductive at helium temperatures. The superconducting transition temperature Tc depends on the film structure and is below 4 K.[5][6] The superconductivity persists under high magnetic field (few teslas) that differs from superconductivity in In metal which is quenched by fields of only 0.03 tesla. Nevertheless, the superconductivity is attributed to metallic indium chains[5] or nanoclusters, where the small size increases the critical magnetic field according to the Ginzburg–Landau theory.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ T. D. Veal, C. F. McConville, and W. J. Schaff (Eds), Indium Nitride and Related Alloys (CRC Press, 2009)
  2. ^ V. Yu. Davydov et al. (2002). "Absorption and Emission of Hexagonal InN. Evidence of Narrow Fundamental Band Gap" (free download pdf). Phys. Stat. Solidi (b) 229: R1. http://www.ioffe.ru/SVA/NSM/Semicond/InN/doc/dvdv02pss229_1.pdf. 
  3. ^ Goiran, Michel; et al.,, (2010). "Electron cyclotron effective mass in indium nitride". APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS 96: 052117. Bibcode 2010ApPhL..96e2117G. doi:10.1063/1.3304169. 
  4. ^ Millot, Marius; et al., (2011). "Determination of effective mass in InN by high-field oscillatory magnetoabsorption spectroscopy". Phys. Rev. B 83: 125204. Bibcode 2011PhRvB..83l5204M. doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.83.125204. http://prb.aps.org/abstract/PRB/v83/i12/e125204. 
  5. ^ a b T. Inushima (2006). "Electronic structure of superconducting InN" (free download pdf). Sci. Techn. Adv. Mater. 7 (S1): S112. Bibcode 2006STAdM...7S.112I. doi:10.1016/j.stam.2006.05.009. 
  6. ^ Tiras, E.; Gunes, M.; Balkan, N.; Airey, R.; Schaff, W. J. (2009). "Superconductivity in heavily compensated Mg-doped InN". Applied Physics Letters 94 (14): 142108. Bibcode 2009ApPhL..94n2108T. doi:10.1063/1.3116120. 
  7. ^ Komissarova, T. A.; Parfeniev, R. V.; Ivanov, S. V. (2009). "Comment on “Superconductivity in heavily compensated Mg-doped InN” [Appl. Phys. Lett. 94, 142108 (2009)]". Applied Physics Letters 95 (8): 086101. Bibcode 2009ApPhL..95h6101K. doi:10.1063/1.3212864.