Structural and optoelectronic characterization of RF sputtered ZnSnN(2).

ZnSnN(2), a new earth-abundant semiconductor, is synthesized and characterized for use as a photovoltaic absorber material. Results confirm the predicted orthorhombic Pna2(1) crystal structure in RF sputtered thin films. Additionally, optical measurements reveal a direct bandgap of about 2 eV, which is larger than our calculated bandgap of 1.42 eV due to the Burstein-Moss effect.