Transparent and conductive Ta doped BaSnO3 films epitaxially grown on MgO substrate

• Transparent and conductive Ta doped BaSnO3 epitaxial films were prepared.
• XPS confirms that the Ta ions are presented in the +5 state.
• The lowest room-temperature resistivity of 2.525 mΩcm was observed in 7% Ta doped BaSnO3 film.
• The Ta doped BaSnO3 films have high transmittance of more than 80% in the visible range.

Transparent and conductive Ta doped BaSnO3 (BaSn1−xTaxO3, BSTO) films with x = 0–0.15 were epitaxially grown on MgO single crystalline substrates by a pulsed laser deposition method. The effects of Ta ions incorporation on the microstructure, electrical and optical properties of BSTO films were investigated. X-ray diffraction measurements indicate that the out-of-plane lattice parameters increase gradually with Ta concentration increasing, and the films are relaxed due to the large lattice mismatch between the films and substrate. Atomic force microscopy images reveal that all the films have smooth surface and low roughness. X-ray photoelectron spectra of BSTO films confirm that the Ta ions are presented in the +5 state. The lowest room-temperature resistivity and the highest carrier concentration and Hall mobility were observed in BSTO film at x = 0.07, with the values of 2.525 mΩcm, 5.024 × 1020 cm−3, and 4.921 cm2/Vs, respectively. Temperature dependent resistivity behavior shows that the BSTO films with low doping content exhibit metal-semiconductor transition at low temperature. The optical transmittances of all BSTO films are more than 80% in the visible region. The optical band gaps were found to increase from 3.52 to 4.23 eV with the increase of Ta doping content and can be attributed to the Burstein-Moss effect. Thus, the superior electrical and optical properties of Ta doped BaSnO3 films are comparable to that of La and Sb doped BaSnO3 films, and have potential applications in the optoelectronic devices.