First-principles study of transition metal linear monoatomic chains adsorption on boron nitride nanotube

Structural, electronic and magnetic properties of six 3d transition metals (TM=V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co and Ni) linear monoatomic chains adsorbed on the (5,5) boron nitride nanotube (BNNT) at five different sites have been investigated by first-principle calculations. The results indicate all TM chains can be spontaneously adsorbed on the outer surface of the BNNT. The stable adsorption sites are different for different TM chains. All TM chains can be adsorbed on the N site, while the adsorption on the Z site is unstable. The dispersion character occurs in energy band curves of stable TM/BNNT systems and bring about the band gap disappearance in comparison with that of pure (5,5) BNNT. Interestingly, the TM/BNNT systems with nearly half-filled 3d metals V and Cr at H and N sites, as well as Mn at A site show a half-metal character and are usable in spintronics devices. The different electronic properties of BNNT can also be achieved through decorations of the same TM chain on different sites. The TM chain adsorbed BNNT systems exhibit high stability, promising electronic properties and high magnetic moments, which may be useful for a wide variety of next-generation nanoelectronic device components.     

碳掺杂硼氮纳米管电子场发射的第一性原理研究

对闭口硼氮纳米管（BNNT）顶层掺碳体系,运用第一性原理研究了电子场发射性能.结果表明,掺碳的BNNT体系电子结构变化显著;外电场愈强,体系态密度向低能端移动幅度愈大,且最高占据分子轨道（HOMO）/最低未占据分子轨道（LUMO）能隙愈小.体系态密度和局域态密度,HOMO和LUMO及其能隙分析一致表明,各种碳掺杂体系中C_eqBNNT的场发射性能最佳. 关键词： 硼氮纳米管 碳掺杂 第一性原理     

First principle study of the electronic and magnetic properties of a single iron atomic chain encapsulated in boron nitrite nanotubes

The electronic and magnetic properties for a single Fe atom chain wrapped in armchair (n,n) boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) (4≤n≤6) are investigated through the density functional theory. By increasing the nanotube diameter, the magnetic moments, total magnetic moments and spin polarization of systems are increased. We have calculated the majority and minority density of states (DOS) of armchair BNNT. Our results show that the magnetic moment of the system come mostly from the Fe atom chain. The magnetic moment on an Fe atom, the total magnetic moment and spin polarization decrease by increasing the axial separation of the Fe atom chain for the system. The BNNT can be used in the magnetic nanodevices because of higher magnetic moment and spin polarization.     

Electronic structure of half-metallic ferromagnet Co<Subscript>2</Subscript>MnSi at high-pressure

In this study, first principles calculation results of the half-metallic ferromagnetic Heusler compound Co₂MnSi are presented. All calculations are based on the spin-polarized generalized gradient approximation (σ-GGA) of the density functional theory and ultrasoft pseudopotentials with plane wave basis. Electronic structure of related compound in cubic L2₁ structure is investigated up to 95 GPa uniform hydrostatic pressure. The half-metal to metal transition was observed around ~70 GPa together with downward shift of the conduction band minimum (CBM) and a linear increase of direct band gap of minority spins at Γ-point with increasing pressure. The electronic density of states of minority spins at Fermi level, which are mainly due to the cobalt atoms, become remarkable with increasing pressure resulting a sharp decrease in spin polarization ratio. It can be stated that the pressure affects minority spin states rather than that of majority spins and lead to a slight reconstruction of minority spin states which lie below the Fermi level. In particular, energy band gap of minority spin states in equilibrium structure is obviously not destroyed, but the Fermi level is shifted outside the gap.     

Structural,electronic and magnetic properties of hcp Fe,Co and Ni nanowires encapsulated in zigzag carbon nanotubes

The structural, electronic and magnetic properties of hcp transition metal (TM = Fe, Co or Ni) nanowires TM₄ encapsulated inside zigzag nanotubes C(m, 0) (m = 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 or 12), along with TM _n (n = 4, 10 or 13) encapsulated inside C(12, 0), have been systematically investigated using the first-principle calculations. The results show that the TM nanowires can be inserted inside a variety of zigzag carbon nanotubes (CNTs) exothermically, except from the systems TM₄@(7, 0) and TM₁₃@(12, 0) which are endothermic. The charge is transferred from TM nanowires to CNTs, and the transferred charge increases with decreasing CNT diameter or increasing nanowire thickness. The magnetic moments of hybrid systems are smaller than those of the freestanding TM nanowires, especially for the atoms on the outermost shell of the nanowires. The magnetic moment per TM atom of TM/CNT system increases with increasing CNT diameter or decreasing nanowire thickness. Both the density of states and spin charge density analysis show that the spin polarization and the magnetic moments of all hybrid systems mainly originate from the TM nanowires, implying these systems can be applied in magnetic data storage devices.     

Effect of Cr on the electronic structure of Co3Al intermetallic compound: A first-principles study

The effect of doping with Cr on the electronic structure and magnetism of Co₃Al has been studied by density functional calculations. It has been found that the Cr atom has a strong site preference for the B-site in Co₃Al. With the substitution of Cr for Co, the total densities of states (DOS) change obviously: A DOS peak appears at E_F in the majority spin states and an energy gap is opened in the minority spin states. The effect of Cr in Co₃Al is mainly to push the antibonding peak of the Co (A,C) atoms high on the energy scale and to form the energy gap around E_F, and also to contribute to the large DOS peak at E_F in the majority spin direction. The calculations indicate a ferromagnetic alignment between the Co and Cr spin moments. The calculated total magnetic moment decreases and becomes closer to the Slater–Pauling curve with increasing Cr content. This is mainly due to the decrease of the Co (A,C) spin moments. At the same time, the moments of Co (B) and Cr (B) only change slightly.     

单层GaSe表面Fe原子吸附体系电子自旋性质调控

Ⅲ族金属单硫化物因其优越的光电和自旋电子特性而备受关注,实现对其自旋性质的有效调控是发展器件应用的关键.本文采用密度泛函理论系统地研究了GaSe表面Fe原子吸附体系的几何构型及自旋电子特性.Fe/GaSe体系中Fe吸附原子与最近邻Ga,Se原子存在较强的轨道耦合效应,使体系呈现100%自旋极化的半金属性.其自旋极化贡献主要来源于Fe-3d电子的转移及Fe-3d,Se-4p和Ga-4p轨道杂化效应.对于Fe双原子吸附体系,两Fe原子之间的自旋局域导致原本从Fe转移至GaSe的自旋极化电荷量减少,从而费米能级附近的单自旋通道转变为双自旋通道,费米能级处的自旋极化率转变为0.研究结果揭示了Fe_n/GaSe吸附体系自旋极化特性的形成和转变机制,可为未来二维自旋纳米器件的设计与构建提供参考.     

Structural and electronic properties of carbon adsorbed on Fe(100)

Density functional theory within general gradient approximation (GGA) has been used to investigate sub-monolayer carbon atom adsorbed on Fe(100) as a function of coverage. The carbon atoms prefer to adsorb in the fourfold hollow site and bind strongly with the Fe surfaces. There is a substantial and strong coverage dependence of the carbon-induced expansion of the first interlayer spacing, reflecting a weakening of Fe–Fe bonds between the two outermost substrate layers. Some charge is found to transfer from substrate Fe to the adsorbate C atoms, which is responsible for the increase of work function. The density of states (DOS) analysis indicates the bonding of carbon with the first surface layer Fe atoms is primarily due to the interaction between Fe 3d_{x2-y2, xy} and C 2p_{x, y} orbitals, and the bonding of carbon with the second surface layer Fe atom that sits directly below the carbon atom is mainly from interaction between the minority spin Fe 3d_z2 and C 2p_z orbitals.     

High spin polarization in ordered Cr3Co with the DO3 structure: A first-principles study

The electronic structure of the highly ordered alloy Cr₃Co with the DO₃ structure has been studied by FLAPW calculations. It is found that the ferrimagnetic state is stable and that the equilibrium lattice constant of Cr₃Co equals 5.77 Å. A large peak in majority spin density of states (DOS) and an energy gap in minority spin DOS are observed at the Fermi level, which results in a high spin polarization of 90% in the ordered alloy Cr₃Co. The total magnetic moment of Cr₃Co is 3.12μ_B, which is close to the ideal value of 3μ_B derived from the Slater-Pauling curve. An antiparallel alignment between the moments on the Cr (A, C) sites and the Cr (B) sites is observed. Finally, the effect of lattice distortion on the electronic structure and on magnetic properties of Cr₃Co compound is studied. A spin polarization higher than 80% can be obtained between 5.55 and 5.90 Å. With increasing lattice constant, the magnetic moments on the (A, C) sites increase and the moments on the (B, D) sites decrease. They compensate each other and make the total magnetic moment change only slightly.     

Electronic and magnetic properties of copper-family-element atom adsorbed graphene nanoribbons with zigzag edges

We have investigated the electronic and magnetic properties of copper-family-element (CFE) atom adsorbed graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) with zigzag edges using first-principles calculations based on density functional theory. We found that CFE atoms energetically prefer to be adsorbed at the edges of nanoribbons. Charges are transferred between the CFE atom and carbon atoms at the edge, which reduce the local magnetic moment of carbon atoms in the vicinity of adsorption site and change the electronic structure of GNRs. As a result, Cu adsorbed zigzag GNR is a semiconductor with energy band gap of 0.88 eV in beta-spin and energy gap of 0.22 eV in alpha-spin, while Ag adsorbed zigzag GNR and Au adsorbed zigzag GNR are both half-metallic with the energy gaps of 0.68 eV and 0.63 eV in beta-spin, respectively. These results show that CFE atom adsorbed zigzag GNRs can be applied in nanoelectronics and spintronics.     

The X (X = C, Si and Ge) doped BN nanotube: A computational study

We have performed density functional theory (DFT) calculations to investigate the influence of X-doping (X = C, Si and Ge) on the properties of the electronic structure of the zigzag boron-nitride nanotubes (BNNTs). A single boron and nitrogen atom in the representative (10, 0) BNNT are doped by the X atoms. Electric field gradient (EFG) tensors have been calculated for the different models of the investigated BNNT and converted to quadrupole coupling constants (CQ) for B-11 and N-14 atoms. Our results indicated that the CQ parameters are changed for N-X bonds more than those for B-X ones. The calculations were carried out using the Gaussian 03 software package.     

Electronic structure of cubic uranium compounds

Self-consistent cellular multiple scattering techniques and photoemission energy distribution curves obtained at 20<hv<80 eV are used to study the density of states of UN and US. The calculations are based on a model using a finite cluster of atoms in a condensed-matter-like boundary potential. The main results refer to the mixing of thes, p, d, andf-states of uranium into a valence and a conduction band. Thef-states form orbitals with the ligands, within the valence and conduction bands. In the nitride the amount off character in the valence band is only 0.3 electrons and thef electrons are in two resonant levels (of each spin) in the conduction band. Only the first of these levels is occupied for the local, alternate from atom to atom, majority spin. In the sulfide the amount off character in the valence band is 0.59 electrons and the rest of thef-levels are in a resonance state (of majority spin) at the beginning of the conduction band. The conduction band is mainly of localized uranium 6d character. The theoretical results compare favorably with the photoemission data reported here.     

Hot electron spin attenuation lengths of bcc —Room temperature Magnetocurrent of 1200%

We investigate spin-dependent hot electron transport through metallic epitaxial spin valves by ballistic electron magnetic microscopy (BEMM). By variation of the thickness of one of the ferromagnetic layers we determine the spin dependent attenuation lengths which reflect hot electron transport along the vicinity of the [1 0 0]-axis of the bcc Fe₃₄Co₆₆ lattice. The majority spin attenuation length is more than 6 times larger than that of the minority spins within the measured energy interval of 1.3 up to 2 eV above the Fermi level. Consequently a Magnetocurrent effect exceeding 1200% accompanied by a monotonic bias voltage behavior is observed at room temperature.     

Electron stimulated desorption of cesium atoms from germanium-covered tungsten

The electron stimulated desorption (ESD) yield and energy distributions for Cs atoms from cesium layers adsorbed on germanium-covered tungsten have been measured for different Ge film thicknesses, 0.25-4.75 ML (monolayer), as a function of electron energy and cesium coverage Θ. The measurements have been carried out using a time-of-flight method and surface ionization detector. In the majority of measurements Cs is adsorbed at 300 K. The appearance threshold for Cs atoms is about 30 eV, which correlates well with the Ge 3d ionization energy. As the electron energy increases the Cs atom ESD yield passes through a wide maximum at an electron energy of about 120 eV. In the Ge film thickness range from 0.5 to 2 ML, resonant Cs atom yield peaks are observed at electron energies of 50 and 80 eV that can be associated with W 5p and W 5s level excitations. As the cesium coverage increases the Cs atom yield passes through a smooth maximum at 1 ML coverage. The Cs atom ESD energy distributions are bell-shaped; they shift toward higher energies with increasing cesium coverage for thin germanium films and shift toward lower energies with increasing cesium coverage for thick germanium films. The energy distributions for ESD of Cs from a 1 ML Ge film exhibit a strong temperature dependence; at T = 160 K they consist of two bell-shaped curves: a narrow peak with a maximum at a kinetic energy of 0.35 eV and a wider peak with a maximum at a kinetic energy of 0.5 eV. The former is associated with W level excitations and the latter with a Ge 3d level excitation. These results can be interpreted in terms of the Auger stimulated desorption model.     

Magnetic properties and electronic structures of hcp Fe,Co and Ni nanowires encapsulated in a zigzag (12,0) BN nanotube

The magnetic properties and electronic structures of ferromagnetic nanowires (FM=Fe, Co and Ni) encapsulated inside a zigzag (12,0) boron nitride nanotube (BNNT) are investigated by first-principle calculations. The relaxed geometry structures of FM/BNNT systems have only slightly changed. Formation energy analysis shows that the combining processes of Co/BNNT and Ni/BNNT systems are exothermic, and therefore the Co and Ni nanowires can be encapsulated into a semiconducting zigzag (12,0) BNNT and form stable hybrid structures. The charges are transferred from ferromagnetic nanowires to more electronegative BNNTs, and the formed FM–N bonds have covalent bond characteristics. The magnetic moments of FM/BNNT systems are smaller than those of the freestanding ferromagnetic nanowires, especially for the atoms on the outermost shell of the nanowires. The stable FM/BNNT systems exhibit higher magnetic moments, which can be useful for a wide variety of next-generation nanoelectronic device components.     

Ab initio study of gold-doped zigzag graphene nanoribbons

The electronic transport properties of zigzag graphene nanoribbons (ZGNRs) through covalent functionalization of gold (Au) atoms is investigated by using non-equilibrium Green’s function combined with density functional theory. It is revealed that the electronic properties of Au-doped ZGNRs vary significantly due to spin and its non-inclusion. We find that the DOS profiles of Au-adsorbed ZGNR due to spin reveal very less number of states available for conduction, whereas non-inclusion of spin results in higher DOS across the Fermi level. Edge Au-doped ribbons exhibit stable structure and are energetically more favorable than the center Au-doped ZGNRs. Though the chemical interaction at the ZGNR–Au interface modifies the Fermi level, Au-adsorbed ZGNR reveals semimetallic properties. A prominent qualitative change of the I–V curve from linear to nonlinear is observed as the Au atom shifts from center toward the edges of the ribbon. Number of peaks present near the Fermi level ensures conductance channels available for charge transport in case of Au-center-substituted ZGNR. We predict semimetallic nature of the Au-adsorbed ZGNR with a high DOS peak distributed over a narrow energy region at the Fermi level and fewer conductance channels. Our calculations for the magnetic properties predict that Au functionalization leads to semiconducting nature with different band gaps for spin up and spin down. The outcomes are compared with the experimental and theoretical results available for other materials.     

Position annihilation in transition metals

The positron annihilation rate in a ferromagnetic electron system which is described by a generalized Anderson model has been studied. Because of the spin polarization ofs-type electrons, the difference in the annihilation rate between the majority and the minority spins changes its sign at the momentum corresponding to the virtuald-level. The enhancement factor due to the effective Coulomb interaction between the electrons and a positron has been calculated using the dielectric constant for a ferromagnetic electron gas derived by Kim and Schwatz.     

Effect of tube radius on the exohedral chemical functionalization of boron-nitride zigzag nanotubes with NH3

The interaction between zigzag BNNTs with chirality index n=3–10 and ammonia has been studied at the level of B3LYP/6-31G^?. Ammonia can be chemically adsorbed on (3,0) to (7,0) BNNTs and physically adsorbed on other studied BNNTs. From NBO analysis charge transfer occur from NH₃ to BNNTs and change in the natural electron configuration of B atom of BNNTs at adsorption site for the (3,0) and (4,0) BNNTs cases is larger than others. The DOS result show that after functionalization of BNNTs with NH₃ molecules electronic properties of tubes are largely preserved and can be viewed as some kind of harmless modification. Electronic analysis revealed that the interaction of zigzag BNNTs with ammonia is more electrostatic (ionic) in nature, rather than the sole covalent and electrostatic nature increased with increasing of tube diameter.     

Structural and electronic properties of neutral clusters Ga12X (X=C, Si, Ge, Sn, and Pb) and their anions from first principles

The structural and electronic properties of neutral and negatively charged Ga₁₂X (X=C, Si, Ge, Sn, and Pb) clusters are calculated by the first-principles method. The results show that the most stable symmetry depends on the doped atom rather than the geometry structure. However, the geometry symmetry plays an important role in calculating the energy gap. In addition, in the anionic clusters, the added electron would reduce the energy gap by about 0.4 eV. As for the density of states (DOS), clusters with the same symmetry show a similar trend of DOS. The major impact on DOS by adding an electron is the occurrence of relative energy shift.     

Stretched Exponential Fixation in Stochastic Ising Models at Zero Temperature

We study a class of continuous time Markov processes, which describes ± 1 spin flip dynamics on the hypercubic latticeℤ ^d , d≥ 2, with initial spin configurations chosen according to the Bernoulli product measure with density p of spins + 1. During the evolution the spin at each site flips at rate c= 0, or 0 < α≤ 1, or 1, depending on whether, respectively, a majority of spins of nearest neighbors to this site exists and agrees with the value of the spin at the given site, or does not exist (there is a tie), or exists and disagrees with the value of the spin at the given site. These dynamics correspond to various stochastic Ising models at 0 temperature, for the Hamiltonian with uniform ferromagnetic interaction between nearest neighbors. In case α= 1, the dynamics is also a threshold voter model. We show that if p is sufficiently close to 1, then the system fixates in the sense that for almost every realization of the initial configuration and dynamical evolution, each site flips only finitely many times, reaching eventually the state + 1. Moreover, we show that in this case the probability q(t) that a given spin is in state − 1 at time t satisfies the bound: for arbitrary ɛ > 0, q(t) ≤ exp(−t ^{(1/ d ) −ɛ}), for large t. In d= 2 we obtain the complementary bound: for arbitrary ɛ > 0, q(t) ≥ exp(−t ^{(1/2) +ɛ}), for large t. Received: 12 July 2001 / Accepted: 1 February 2002