Third-order elastic constants and pressure derivatives of the second-order elastic constants of β-tin

The second- and third-order elastic constants and pressure derivatives of second-order elastic constants of tetragonal β-tin have been obtained using the deformation theory. The strain energy density derived using the deformation theory is compared with the strain dependent lattice energy obtained from the elastic continuum model approximation to get the expressions for the second- and third-order elastic constants. Higher order elastic constants are a measure of the anharmonicity of a crystal lattice. The 12 non-vanishing third-order elastic constants and the six pressure derivatives of the second-order elastic constants in tetragonal β-tin are obtained in the present work and are compared with the available experimental values. The second-order elastic constant C₃₃ obtained in the present study is in reasonable agreement with the experimental values. The third-order elastic constants are generally one order of magnitude greater than the second-order elastic constants as expected of a crystalline solid. The third-order elastic constant C₃₃₃ is higher in magnitude than all other values. This shows a greater anharmonicity of β-tin along the c-axis direction of the crystal.     

Third-order elastic constants of the alloy Fe72Pt28

The complete sets of second- and third-order elastic constants of the cubic Fe₇₂Pt₂₈ have been obtained using the strain energy density derived from interactions up to three nearest neighbours of each atom in the unit cell. The finite strain elasticity theory has been used to get the strain energy density of Fe₇₂Pt₂₈. The strain energy density is compared with the strain-dependent lattice energy density obtained from the continuum model approximation and the expressions for the second- and third-order elastic constants of Fe₇₂Pt₂₈ are given. The second-order potential parameter is deduced from the measured second-order elastic constants of Fe₇₂Pt₂₈ and the third-order potential parameter is estimated from the Lennard-Jones inter-atomic potential for Fe₇₂Pt₂₈. The inter-lattice displacements; the three independent second-order elastic constants and the six independent third-order elastic constants of Fe₇₂Pt₂₈ are also determined. The second-order elastic constants are compared with the experimental elastic constants of Fe₇₂Pt₂₈. We also study the effect of pressure on the second-order elastic constants of Fe₇₂Pt₂₈.     

Anharmonic properties of rocksalt structure solids

An effort has been made for obtaining the anharmonic properties of rocksalt structure solids starting from primary physical parameters viz. nearest-neighbor distance and hardness parameter assuming long- and short-range potentials at elevated temperatures. The elastic energy density for a deformed crystal can be expanded as power series of strains for obtaining coefficients of quadratic, cubic and quartic terms which are known as the second-, third- and fourth-order elastic constants, respectively. When the values of the higher-order elastic constants are known for a crystal, many of the anharmonic properties of the crystal can be treated within the limit of the continuum approximation in a quantitative manner. In this study, higher-order elastic constants are computed up to their melting temperature for rocksalt structure solids, which are alkali cyanides, sodium and potassium halides. The first order pressure derivatives of second- and third-order elastic constants, the second-order pressure derivatives of second-order elastic constants and partial contractions are also evaluated at different temperatures for these substances. The results thus obtained are compared with experimental data and found in well agreement with present values.     

The first principles study on the Boron antimony compound

We present the results of our calculations on Boron antimony (BSb) compound in zinc-blende (ZB) and rock-salt (RS) structures by performing ab initio calculations within the local density approximation (LDA). Some basic physical properties, such as lattice constant, bulk modulus, cohesive energy, phase transition pressure, second-order elastic constants (C_ij), phonon frequencies, and some band structural parameters are calculated and compared with those obtained with other recent theoretical works. In order to further understand the behaviour of BSb compound, we have also predicted, the pressure-dependent behaviours of the band gap, second-order elastic constants (C_ij), Young's modulus, poison ratios (ν), Anizotropy factor (A), sound velocities, and Debye temperature for this hypothetical compound.     

Low-temperature lattice thermal expansion of the II-VI semiconductor ZnSe

The low-temperature lattice thermal expansion of the wide gap semiconductor ZnSe is investigated using the quasi-harmonic theory of thermal expansion. The generalized Grüneisen parameters (GPs) of the elastic waves propagating in different directions with respect to the [001] crystallographic axis are calculated using the second-and third-order elastic constants. The values of the generalized GPs γ_j are generally positive except for γ₂ from θ=25 to 65°. The Brugger gamma is calculated and the low-temperature limit of the Grüneisen gamma is determined using the procedure of Menon and Rao. The low-temperature limit has been obtained as 0.46 for ZnSe. The volume expansion is expected to be positive down to absolute zero for ZnSe, since is positive.     

Elastic constants of solids at high pressures

The isothermal and adiabatic nth-order (n ?? 2) elastic constants of a loaded crystal are defined. These constants fully determine the behavior of solids at an arbitrary load and are controlled by both an interatomic interaction and an applied load. Expressions that relate these constants (of the second, third, and fourth order) to Brugger elastic constants of the corresponding order, which are only determined by an inter-atomic interaction, are found for cubic symmetry crystals under hydrostatic pressure. These expressions are used to calculate the equation of state and the second- and third-order elastic constants of bcc tantalum at T = 0 K over a wide pressure range (0?C600 GPa) using an electron density functional method. The results of calculating the equation of state and the second-order elastic constants agree with available experimental data and the calculation results obtained in other works.     

Anharmonic properties of TmTe

Data on elastic constants and associated properties at high temperature for TmTe crystal are presented and discussed starting from primary physical parameters viz. nearest neighbour distance and hardness parameter assuming long- and short-range potentials. When the values of the higher order elastic constants are known for a crystal, many of the anharmonic properties of the crystal can be treated within the limit of the continuum approximation in a quantitative manner. In this study, higher order elastic constants and related properties are computed upto 1000 K for TmTe. The first-order pressure derivatives of second- and third-order elastic constants, the second-order pressure derivatives of second-order elastic constants and partial contractions are also evaluated at different temperatures. The results thus obtained are compared with other available data and found in well agreement with present values.     

Microscopic theory of second-order and third-order elastic constants for an NaCl crystal

Relations between the second-order and third-order symmetry-independent elastic constants and the energy of interatomic interactions dependent on the mutual arrangement of pairs and triplets of atoms are obtained for crystals belonging to the crystal class O _h. The derived relations and experimental data on the elastic constants are used to calculate four third-order elastic constants and the temperature dependence of the elastic anisotropy factor a(T) for an NaCl crystal. The calculated dependence a(T) is in qualitative agreement with the experimental dependence a _exp(T).     

Elastic properties of the RIV-RIII rotator phases of alkanes

A model free energy has been constructed to describe the R_IV-R_III rotator phase transition in alkanes in terms of the elastic strains and order parameter. The conditions for the R_IV-R_III phase transition are discussed. From the free energy, the order parameter and the elastic strains are determined. The model free energy describes the first or second order character of the R_IV-R_III transition depending on the strength of the coupling. The elastic properties in the vicinity of the R_IV-R_III transition are discussed on the basis of a free energy expansion. The temperature dependence of the elastic constants is calculated on both sides of the transition. The coupling between the order parameter and elastic stains is shown to have a crucial influence on the phase behavior and the order of the transition.     

Structural, electronic, elastic and thermal properties of Mg2Si

First-principles calculations of the lattice parameter, electron density maps, density of states and elastic constants of Mg₂Si are reported. The lattice parameter is found to differ by less than 0.8% from the experimental data. Calculations of density of states and electron density maps are also performed to describe the orbital mixing and the nature of chemical bonding. Our results indicate that the bonding interactions in the Mg₂Si crystal are more covalent than ionic. The quasi-harmonic Debye model, by means of total energy versus volume calculations obtained with the plane-wave pseudopotential method, is applied to study the elastic, thermal and vibrational effects. The variations of bulk modulus, Grüneisen parameter, Debye temperature, heat capacity C_v, C_p and entropy with pressure P up to 7 GPa in the temperature interval 0-1300 K have been systemically investigated. Significant differences in properties are observed at high pressure and high temperature. When T<1300 K, the calculated entropy and heat capacity agree reasonably with available experimental data. Therefore, the present results indicate that the combination of first-principles and quasi-harmonic Debye model is an efficient approach to simulate the behavior of Mg₂Si.     

Pressure induced phase transition in ZnS

The phase transition of ZnS from the zincblende (ZB) structure to the rocksalt (RS) structure is investigated by the ab initio plane-wave pseudopotential density functional theory method. It is found that the pressures for transition from the ZB structure to the RS structure are 17.5 GPa from total energy-volume data and 15.4 GPa from equal enthalpies, consistent with the experimental data. From the high pressure elastic constants obtained, we find that the ZB structure ZnS is unstable when the applied pressure is larger than 17 GPa. Moreover, the dependence of the normalized primitive cell volume V/V₀ on pressure P can also be successfully obtained.     

Lattice mechanical properties of alkaline earth metals in bcc and fcc phases

A model pseudopotential depending on an effective core radius treated as a parameter is used for alkaline earth metals in bcc and fcc phases to study the Binding energy, Interatomic interactions, phonon dispersion curves, Phonon density of states, Debye-Waller factor, mean square displacement, Debye-Waller temperature parameters, dynamical elastic constants (C₁₁, C₁₂ and C₄₄), bulk modulus (B), shear modulus (C′), deviation from Cauchy relation (C₁₂−C₄₄), Poisson's ratio (σ), Young's modulus (Y), behavior of phonon frequencies in the elastic limit independent of the direction (Y₁), limiting value in the [1 1 0] direction (Y₂), degree of elastic anisotropy (A) and propagation velocities of the elastic waves. The contribution of s-like electrons is incorporated through the second-order perturbation theory due to model potential. The theoretical results are compared with the existing experimental data. A good agreement between theoretical investigations and experimental findings has confirmed the ability of our potential to yield large numbers of lattice mechanical properties of certain alkaline earth metals.     

Electronic structure calculations of lead chalcogenides PbS, PbSe, PbTe

In this work, we have extended our study of the mechanical properties and the electronic structure of PbTe to include other Pb chalcogenide compounds (PbSe, PbS). The calculations were performed self-consistently using the scalar-relativistic full-potential linearized augmented plane wave method. Both the local density approximation (LDA) and the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) to density-functional theory were applied.The equilibrium lattice constants and the bulk modulus of a number of structures (NaCl, CsCl, ZnS) were calculated as well as the elastic constants for the structures (NaCl, CsCl). The NaCl structure is found to be the most stable one among all the three phases considered. We have found that the GGA predicts the elastic constants in good agreement with experimental data.Both the LDA and GGA were successful in predicting the location of the band gap at the L point of the Brillouin zone but they are inconclusive regarding the value of the band-gap width. To resolve the issue of the gap, we performed Slater-Koster (SK) tight-binding calculations, including the spin-orbit coupling in the SK Hamiltonian. The SK results that are based on our GGA calculations give the best agreement with experiment.Results are reported for the pressure dependence of the energy gap of these compounds in the NaCl structure. The pressure variation of the energy gap indicates a transition to a metallic phase at high pressure. Band structure calculations in the CsCl structure show a metallic state for all compounds. The electronic band structure in the ZnS phase shows an indirect band gap at the W and X point of the Brillouin zone.     

First principles study on the structural, electronic, and elastic properties of Na-As systems

We have performed the first principles calculation by using the plane-wave pseudopotential approach with the generalized gradient approximation for investigating the structural, electronic, and elastic properties Na-As systems (NaAs in NaP, LiAs and AuCu-type structures, NaAs₂ in MgCu₂-type structure, Na₃As in Na₃As, Cu₃P and Li₃Bi-type structures, and Na₅As₄ in A₅B₄-type structure). The lattice parameters, cohesive energy, formation energy, bulk modulus, and the first derivative of bulk modulus (to fit to Murnaghan’s equation of state) of the related structures are calculated. The second-order elastic constants and the other related quantities such as Young’s modulus, shear modulus, Poisson’s ratio, sound velocities, and Debye temperature are also estimated.     

First-principles calculations of structural, elastic, electronic and optical properties of the antiperovskite AsNMg3

The density functional theory (DFT) calculations of structural, elastic, electronic and optical properties of the cubic antiperovskite AsNMg₃ has been reported using the pseudo-potential plane wave method (PP-PW) within the generalized gradient approximation (GGA). The equilibrium lattice, bulk modulus and its pressure derivative have been determined. The elastic constants and their pressure dependence are calculated using the static finite strain technique. We derived the bulk and shear moduli, Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio for ideal polycrystalline AsNMg₃ aggregate. We estimated the Debye temperature of AsNMg₃ from the average sound velocity. This is the first quantitative theoretical prediction of the elastic properties of AsNMg₃ compound, and it still awaits experimental confirmation. Band structure, density of states and pressure coefficients of energy gaps are also given. The fundamental band gap (Γ-Γ) initially increases up to 4 GPa and then decreases as a function of pressure. Furthermore, the dielectric function, optical reflectivity, refractive index, extinction coefficient, and electron energy loss are calculated for radiation up to 30 eV. The all results are compared with the available theoretical and experimental data.     

Effect of pressure on the elastic properties of silicon carbide

The pressure dependences of the second-order elastic constants C _ij and the velocity of sound in 3C-SiC and 2H-SiC crystals are calculated in the framework of the Keating model. The third-order elastic constants C _ijk for 3C-SiC are determined from the dependences of the second-order elastic constants C _ij on the pressure p.     

Concentration dependences of the elastic constants of the two-dimensional graphene-silicene system

The concentration dependences of the elastic constants of the two-dimensional Si _x C_{1 − x} system have been investigated with the use of the Harrison bonding-orbital method and the Keating model. The central and non-central force constants and the Grüneisen parameter have been considered by means of the bonding-orbital method. All quantities under consideration have been shown to exhibit a nonlinear behavior during the transition from graphene to silicene. A nontrivial role of the short-range repulsion has been discussed. The second-order and third-order elastic constants, the pressure dependences of the second-order elastic constants, as well as the Poisson’s ratio and Young’s modulus have been investigated in the Keating model. It has been found that the elastic constants and Young’s modulus change almost linearly upon the transition from graphene to silicene, whereas the other quantities under consideration exhibit nonlinearity.     

The third-order elastic moduli and pressure derivatives for AlRE (RE=Y,Pr, Nd,Tb, Dy,Ce) intermetallics with B2-structure: A first-principles study

The third-order elastic moduli and pressure derivatives of the second-order elastic constants of novel B2-type AlRE (RE=Y, Pr, Nd, Tb, Dy, Ce) intermetallics are presented from first-principles calculations. The elastic moduli are obtained from the coefficients of the polynomials from the nonlinear least-squares fitting of the energy–strain functions. The calculated second-order elastic constants of AlRE intermetallics are consistent with the previous calculations. To judge that our computational accuracy is reasonable, the calculated third-order constants of Al are compared with the available experimental data and other theoretical results and are found to have good agreements. In comparison with the theory of the linear elasticity, the third-order effects are very important with the finite strains which are lager than approximately 3.5%. Finally, the pressure derivatives have been discussed.     

A simplified analysis of the electronic contribution to the elastic constants in ultrathin films of stressed semiconductors under magnetic quantization

An attempt is made to study the electronic contribution to the second- and third-order elastic constants in ultrathin films of strained semiconductors under magnetic quantization in the presence of broadening on the basis of a newly formulated electron dispersion law. It is found, taking stressed n-InSb as an example, that the carrier contribution to the second- and third-order elastic constants oscillates with increasing carrier degeneracy and decreasing film thickness, respectively, in different manners and the stress enhances their numerical values. A relationship between the said contributions and the thermoelectric power has been derived for quantum confined semiconductors having arbitrary dispersion laws and our analysis agrees quite well with the suggested relationship.