Fabrication and characterization of semiconducting half Heusler YPtSb thin films

The semiconducting half-Heusler compound YPtSb has been predicted to convert into a topological insulator under the application of an appropriate degree of strain. In this study, p-type semiconducting YPtSb thin films were prepared by magnetron co-sputtering, using a specially designed target. YPtSb thin films grown on MgO (100) substrates at 600 degrees C showed a textured structure with the (111) plane parallel to the (001) plane of MgO. Electrical measurements showed that the resistivity of the YPtSb films decreases with increasing temperature, indicating semiconductor-like behavior. The carrier density was as high as 1.15 x 10(21) cm(-3) at 300 K. The band gap of the YPtSb thin films was around 0.1-0.15 eV, which was in good agreement with the theoretical prediction and the value measured for bulk YPtSb. (C) 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim