ZnSnN2 Schottky barrier solar cells.

• Nanocrystalline ZnSnN 2 with electron density of 1016cm−3 is prepared with sputtering. • Ag-ZnSnN 2 Schottky barrier solar cells are successfully fabricated. • Midgap density of states, Debye length and attempt-to-escape frequency of ZnSnN 2 are obtained. The electron density of ZnSnN 2 fabricated by different deposition methods is usually much higher than its conduction band density of states and this hinders its device application. By increasing the Zn/Sn atomic ratio of the alloy target, ZnSnN 2 with electron density of 1016 cm−3 is fabricated. The obtained ZnSnN 2 and silver deposited with radio-frequency sputtering can form Schottky contact which shows photovoltaic effects. The voltage- and frequency-dependent capacitance of the Schottky diodes is further studied. The interface between the Ag-ZnSnN 2 is abrupt with interface states of about 1013 eV−1·cm−2 as revealed by the capacitance–voltage curves. The midgap density of states of ZnSnN 2 is found to be constant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]