Increased hole mobility in anti-ThCr$_2$Si$_2$-type La$_2$O$_2$Bi co-sintered with alkaline earth metal oxides for oxygen intercalation and hole carrier doping

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that co-sintering La$_2$O$_2$Bi with alkaline earth metal oxides enhances hole mobility and electrical conduction through oxygen intercalation and hole doping, nearly doubling previous mobility levels.

Contribution

It introduces a novel co-sintering method with alkaline earth oxides to improve hole mobility in La$_2$O$_2$Bi by oxygen intercalation and doping.

Findings

Hole mobility increased to 150 cm$^2$V$^{-1}$s$^{-1}$.

Oxygen intercalation expanded the c-axis length.

SrO served as both oxygen intercalant and hole dopant.

Abstract

Metallic anti-ThCr$_2$Si$_2$-type $RE_2$O$_2$Bi ($RE$ = rare earth) with Bi square nets show superconductivity while insulating La$_2$O$_2$Bi shows high hole mobility, by expanding the c-axis length through oxygen intercalation. In this study, alkaline earth metal oxides (CaO, SrO, and BaO) were co-sintered with La$_2$O$_2$Bi. CaO and BaO served as oxygen intercalants without incorporation of Ca and Ba in La$_2$O$_2$Bi. On the other hand, SrO served as not only oxygen intercalant but also hole dopant via Sr substitution with La in La$_2$O$_2$Bi. The oxygen intercalation and hole doping resulted in expansion of the c-axis length, contributing to improved electrical conduction. In addition, the hole mobility was enhanced up to 150 cm$^2$V$^{-1}$s$^{-1}$ in La$_2$O$_2$Bi, which almost doubles the mobility in previous study.