Alexander Grutter with Kathy Kash

Growth of ZnSiN2

Zinc Silicon Nitride (ZnSiN2 ) is an extremely wide band-gap semiconductor which has never been grown before. With this senior project I will attempt to grow ZnSiN2 by first designing and building a crystal growth system, and then by finding a “recipe” for crystal growth. Since silicon has a melting point (1414 °C) far higher than that of zinc (907), the silicon will be alloyed with gold (which is inactive in this reaction) to drastically reduce its melting point from 1414 °C to 363 °C. This lower melting temperature should make it easier for zinc in the vapor phase to condense into the alloy. Introduction of ammonia (NH 3 ) will provide nitrogen to the molten silicon and zinc, completing the reaction.