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Revisiting point defects in ionic solids and semiconductors

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The study of point defects in non-metallic crystals has become relevant for an increasing number of materials applications. Progress requires a foundation of consistent definitions and terminology. This Comment clarifies the underlying definitions of point defects, encourages the correct use of relative charge for their description and emphasizes their recognition as quasiparticles.

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Fig. 1: Describing point defects with real charge or relative charge.
Fig. 2: Describing point-defect reactions with real charge or relative charge.

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Acknowledgements

R.D.S. acknowledges discussions with K. Rushchanskii. R.D.S. gratefully acknowledges support from the DFG (German Research Foundation) within the framework of the collaborative research centre ‘Nanoswitches’ (SFB 917) and within the Priority Programme ‘FieldsMatter’ (SPP1959) under project DE 2854/9-2. G.H. gratefully acknowledges funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement number [101031819 - OPTICS].

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  1. George Harrington

    Present address: Department of Chemistry, University of Bath, Bath, UK

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  1. Institute of Physical Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

    Roger De Souza & George Harrington

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  1. Roger De Souza
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Correspondence to Roger De Souza.

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Nature Materials thanks Harry Tuller and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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De Souza, R., Harrington, G. Revisiting point defects in ionic solids and semiconductors. Nat. Mater. 22, 794–797 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-023-01583-4

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