Revealing the intrinsic transport properties of antiperovskite Sr3SnO thin films

Abstract

A topologically non-trivial band structure and reports of superconductivity have motivated significant investigation into the transport properties of the antiperovskite oxide Sr3SnO. Phase-pure films of Sr3SnO can be grown by molecular beam epitaxy, but they do not have the required extremely high hole-doping densities (>1 [Formula: see text] 1021 cm−3) for which superconductivity has been observed in bulk materials. To date, high hole-doping densities have been achieved via inducing strontium deficiency, which inevitably results in impurity phases. Here, we show that indium acts as an effective hole dopant in Sr3SnO and can be used to achieve high hole doping densities in stoichiometric films. Films with carrier densities as high as 1.5 [Formula: see text] 1021 cm−3 remain non-superconducting. We, therefore, suggest that Sr3SnO is probably not an intrinsic superconductor. A second question addressed in this work is the measurement of the intrinsic electrical transport properties of Sr3SnO, given its rapid degradation in air. We show that even in inert atmospheres, reducing the time needed for establishing electrical contacts and protecting the Sr3SnO film result in improved electrical properties. We demonstrate low carrier density films (4 [Formula: see text] 1018 cm−3) with carrier mobilities of 400 cm2 V−1 s−1 at 10 K.