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Universal alignment of hydrogen levels in semiconductors, insulators and solutions

Nature volume 423, pages 626–628 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

Hydrogen strongly affects the electronic and structural properties of many materials. It can bind to defects or to other impurities, often eliminating their electrical activity: this effect of defect passivation is crucial to the performance of many photovoltaic and electronic devices1,2. A fuller understanding of hydrogen in solids is required to support development of improved hydrogen-storage systems3, proton-exchange membranes for fuel cells, and high-permittivity dielectrics for integrated circuits. In chemistry and in biological systems, there have also been many efforts to correlate proton affinity and deprotonation with host properties4. Here we report a systematic theoretical study (based on ab initio methods) of hydrogen in a wide range of hosts, which reveals the existence of a universal alignment for the electronic transition level of hydrogen in semiconductors, insulators and even aqueous solutions. This alignment allows the prediction of the electrical activity of hydrogen in any host material once some basic information about the band structure of that host is known. We present a physical explanation that connects the behaviour of hydrogen to the line-up of electronic band structures at heterojunctions.

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Figure 1: Formation energy of interstitial hydrogen as a function of Fermi level in two different semiconductors, illustrating the qualitatively different position of the ɛ(+ / - ) level.
Figure 2: Band line-ups and position of the ɛ(+ / - ) level for a range of semiconductors and insulators.

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Acknowledgements

We thank S. Limpijumnong, M. Fuchs, M. Chabinyc, D. Biegelsen and the late J. McCaldin for discussions and support. This work was supported in part by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Palo Alto Research Center, 3333 Coyote Hill Road, Palo Alto, California, 94304, USA

    Chris G. Van de Walle

  2. Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Faradayweg 4-6, D-14195, Berlin-Dahlem, Germany

    J. Neugebauer

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  1. Chris G. Van de Walle
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  2. J. Neugebauer
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Correspondence to Chris G. Van de Walle.

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Van de Walle, C., Neugebauer, J. Universal alignment of hydrogen levels in semiconductors, insulators and solutions. Nature 423, 626–628 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature01665

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