Semiconducting KTaO3 single crystals were investigated as a model potential photoanode for hydrogen production using photoelectrochemical cells. To modify the electronic properties of KTaO3 by reducing the band gap and thereby increasing the absorption of light at longer wavelengths, the crystals were doped during growth. A wide range of dopant elements was used that consisted primarily of transition metal atoms. Most of the crystals exhibited n-type behavior with carrier concentrations from 4 × 1018 to 2.6 × 1020 cm–3. The position of the band edges indicated that the crystals were thermodynamically capable of water dissociation. External quantum yield measurements revealed that the samples were photoactive up to a wavelength of ∼350 nm. The indirect band gap and a parameter denoted as E1 that is related to the direct band edge of the semiconductor, were found to be essentially the same for all of the samples. These results indicate that the various dopants and treatments did not produce changes in the KTaO3 electronic structure that were sufficient to significantly modify the behavior of KTaO3 in a PEC cell.

Nanocrystalline silicon (n-Si) is formed in a silicon dioxide thin-film matrix by ion implantation followed by thermal annealing in forming gas at 1100 °C for 1 hour. The ion implantation is performed using multiple implants with different implantation energies and doses to create a quasi-flat concentration of silicon atoms throughout the silicon dioxide film. These samples are then analyzed using spectroscopic ellipsometry to characterize their linear optical properties. Implantations with small doses (5 × 1020 Si atoms/cm3) increase the refractive index by a small amount (δn∼0.006 at 600nm), while implantations with moderate dose (5 × 1021 Si atoms/cm3) have a larger increase in refractive index and exhibit optical absorption above ∼1.9 eV (650 nm).