First principles study of native defects in InI

Heavy-metal halide semiconductors have attracted much interest recently for their potential applications in radiation detection because the large atomic numbers (high Z) of their constituent elements enable efficient radiation absorption and their large band gaps allow room temperature operation. However, defect properties of these halides and their connection to carrier transport are little known. In this paper, we present first-principles calculations on native defects in InI, which is a promising material for applications in room temperature radiation detection. The important findings are: (1) anion and cation vacancies (Schottky defects) form the dominant low-energy defects that can pin the Fermi level close to midgap, leading to high resistivity that is required for a good radiation detector material; (2) the anion vacancy in InI induces a deep electron trap, which should reduce electron mobility-lifetime product in InI; (3) low diffusion barriers of vacancies could be responsible for the observed polarization phenomenon at room temperature. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3592231]