Structural, Electronic and Electrical Properties of Y-Doped Cd2SnO4

Cd2SnO4 shows interesting electrical and optical properties that can be useful for manydifferent applications. Apart from our own previous study, there have been no reports on the influence ofrare-earth doping on this ternary oxide. Therefore, the synthesis of Y-doped orthorhombic Cd2SnO4 hasbeen optimized, and the resulting solid solutions have been characterized by X-ray diffraction, atomic forcemicroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and electrical measurements. XPS results highlight yttriumsegregation to the sample surface, and electrical measurements show that the carrier concentration ofyttrium-doped samples increases by an order of magnitude with respect to the undoped Cd2SnO4, wherethe lowest adopted Y-doping level (0.1% with respect to the cadmium) is the most promising in terms ofconductivity, carrier concentration, and mobility. Temperature-dependent electrical measurements highlighted that bothundoped and Y-doped Cd2SnO4 are degenerate semiconductors.