Probing Defects in Nitrogen-Doped Cu(2)O

Nitrogen doping is a promising method of engineering the electronic structure of a metal oxide to modify its optical and electrical properties; however, the doping effect strongly depends on the types of defects introduced. Herein, we report a comparative study of nitrogen-doping-induced defects in Cu(2)O. Even in the lightly doped samples, a considerable number of nitrogen interstitials (N(i)) formed, accompanied by nitrogen substitutions (N(O)) and oxygen vacancies (V(O)). In the course of high-temperature annealing, these N(i) atoms interacted with V(O), resulting in an increase in N(O) and decreases in N(i) and V(O). The properties of the annealed sample were significantly modified as a result. Our results suggest that N(i) is a significant defect type in nitrogen-doped Cu(2)O.