Structure stability and electronic properties of the Zr-He system: First-principles calculations

Ab initio studies are carried out for the atomic and electronic structures of the Zr-He system. It is revealed that zirconium undergoes a phase transition induced by helium. The most preferred position of the impurity in the metal lattice is determined. The energy of dissolution of helium and the excess volume introduced by helium are calculated. It is shown that the presence of helium in the Zr lattice significantly perturbs the valence charge density of the metal and substantially changes its electronic structure.     

First-principles electronic structure calculations with molecular dynamics made easy

The technique of quantum molecular dynamics is reviewed, and a simplified approach based on a first-principles tight-binding implementation of local density theory is discussed. Several illustrations and applications of the theory are presented. Applying it to amorphous materials, we have developed a procedure for producing amorphous Si networks with small defect concentrations. Benchmark checks are made for atomic geometries at Si(111)-(2×1) and Si(001)-(2×1), p(2×2), and c(4×2) reconstructed surfaces. A simulation of a Scanning Tunneling Microscope tip interacting with a reconstructed surface is performed, and it is shown how the tip can alter the reconstruction of the surface. Simulation of a kinked Si(001) surface step and comparison to an unkinked step are also presented.     

Energetic and electronic structure of BC2N compounds

The stability and electronic structure of BC2N compounds are studied using first-principle calculations. The investigated structures have the topology of graphite layers with either carbon, nitrogen or boron atoms at each site. The calculations show that stabler structures are obtained by increasing the number of C-C and B-N bonds. On the other hand, less stable structures result from increasing the number of N-N and B-B bonds. The energy gap of the stablest compounds varies from 0.0 to 1.62 eV, depending on the distribution of B, C, and N atoms in the unit cell. The electronic properties of BC2N layered materials strongly depend on their atomic arrangements. The observed changes in energy gaps do not simply follow a symmetry-based argument proposed earlier.     

Gd2Co2Al电子结构和磁性的第一性原理研究

从第一性原理出发,在局域自旋密度近似(LSDA)和LSDA+U(在位库仑能)近似下,采用FPLAPW密度泛函能带计算方法研究了Gd2Co2Al的电子结构和磁性.从平均场近似出发,估算了体系的居里温度,并分析了导致体系居里温度偏低的原因.研究结果显示Gd2Co2Al为金属导体,其强的铁磁性的提供者主要是Gd,且Co的局域铁磁性是不稳定的.基于LSDA近似的计算表明Gd2Co2Al呈现亚铁磁性,因为Co与Gd两者磁矩反平行排列.考虑在位库仑能修正的LSDA+U方法则发现一个适当的在位库仑能(U=3.0eV)使体系从亚铁磁态转变为铁磁态,此时Co原子磁矩基本为零与实验结果更为相符.在位库仑能的变化对Co原子磁矩以及磁性原子的能级分布影响较大,但对Gd的磁性基本无影响.由于体系5d-3d态杂化和在位库仑排斥作用竞争使得Co原子磁矩呈现出波动性的特性.     

First-principles studies on stabilities and electronic properties of AlN nanostructures

Under the generalized gradient approximation (GGA), the stabilities and electronic properties of semiconductor AlN nanostructures have been investigated by using the first-principles projector-augmented wave (PAW) potential within the density function theory (DFT) framework. The single-walled faceted AlNNTs present an obvious structural modification. The larger the diameter, the more stable the nanowire, and the wires without internal surfaces are more stable than the multiwalled tubes or the SWNT. Therefore, the large-size nanowires are easier to be synthesized than the corresponding multiwalled tubes or single-walled nanotube in experiment. The dangling bonds of surface atoms cause the “localized edge-induced states”. These two nanostructures C and F are still wide band gap semiconductors accompanied by a few surface states located in the band gap of bulk AlN and thus extremely suitable for application in flexible pulse wave sensors, nanomechanical resonators and light-emitting diodes.     

First-principles calculations of magnetic and electronic structures around surfaces and interfaces of magnetic multi-layered structure

Electronic and magnetic structures of ferromagnetic (FM)/non-magnetic (NM) and FM/antiferromagnetic (AF) bi-layer systems are calculated by the first principles approach. For the FM/NM system, we focus on the Co/Cu multi-layered structure whose interfacial layer is assumed to have a mixed composition of Co and Cu atoms, and show a possibility that Co atoms at the interface play a significant role as the spin-dependent scattering potentials. In the FM/AF system, we consider Fe or Co monolayer as FM layer and MnNi as AF layers. It is predicted that the Mn moments adjacent to FM layer are forced to align the FM moments, and those of under layer go gradually to anti-parallel alignment as in the bulk MnNi.     

First-principles study on electronic structure of LiFePO4

The electronic structure and band structure of olivine LiFePO₄ and its virtually delithiated product FePO₄ are compared based on first-principles calculations. It is found that Li intercalation mainly impacts the electronic and band structures of the Fe atom. Total static energy calculations indicate that it is more difficult for lithium to transfer in LiFePO₄ than in FePO₄.     

First-principles electronic structure of rare-earth arsenides

The electronic properties of rare-earth arsenides have been calculated from first principles. In the calculations we have treated the rare-earth f electrons both as core-like and as valence-like electrons. We consider the changes in the energy bands and in the density of states near the Fermi level which are found to be relevant, except for the case of LuAs, and discuss this in relation with the role played from the rare-earth 5d derived states. Moreover we show that the rare-earth 5d related bands are particularly sensitive to the variation of the lattice constant; change in the lattice constant of less than 1% leads to a different behaviour with respect to the crossing of the rare-earth 5d derived bands and the As 4p derived bands along the Δ-direction. This point is discussed in connection with the possibility of having a semimetal-semiconductor transition in the rare-earth arsenides. Received 22 February 2001     

Al和N共掺p型Zn1-xMgxO电子结构的第一性原理计算

采用密度泛函理论下的第一性原理平面波超软赝势方法,对Zn1-xMgxO超晶胞和掺杂Al,N后的Zn1-xMgxO超晶胞分别进行了优化计算.结合广义梯度近似计算了Al和N共掺杂后Zn1-xMgxO的能带结构、电子态密度和Mulliken电荷布居分布.计算表明:掺入N原子的2p态电子为Zn1-xMgxO价带顶提供空穴载流子,使Zn1-xMgxO价带顶向高能方向移动;掺入Al原子的3p态电子则与N原子的2p态电子在费米能级附近发生轨道杂化,使费米能级处价带能级展宽,Al和N共掺杂可获得p型Zn1-xMgxO.     

Lattice structures and electronic properties of CIGS/CdS interface:First-principles calculations

Using first-principles calculations within density functional theory, we study the atomic structures and electronic properties of the perfect and defective （2VCu＋ Incu） CulnGaSe2/CdS interfaces theoretically, especially the interface states. We find that the local lattice structure of （2VCu＋ InCu） interface is somewhat disorganized. By analyzing the local density of states projected on several atomic layers of the two interfaces models, we find that for the （2VCu＋InCu） interface the interface states near the Fermi level in CulnGaSe2 and CdS band gap regions are mainly composed of interracial Se-4p, Cu-3d and S-3p orbitals, while for the perfect interface there are no clear interface states in the CulnGaSe2 region but only some interface states which are mainly composed of S-3p orbitals in the valance band of CdS region.     

First-principles calculations for electronic, optical and thermodynamic properties of ZnS

The electronic, optical and thermodynamic properties of ZnS in the zinc-blende （ZB） and wurtzite （WZ） structures are investigated by using the plane-wave pseudopotential density functional theory （DFT）. The results obtained are consistent with other theoretical results and the available experimental data. When the pressures are above 20.5 and 27 GPa, the ZB-ZnS and the WZ-ZnS are converted into indirect gap semiconductors, respectively. The critical point structure of the frequency-dependent complex dielectric function is investigated and analysed to identify the optical transitions. Moreover, the values of heat capacity Cv and Debye temperature θ at different pressures and different temperatures are also obtained successfully.     

First-principles calculations of the electronic structure and plastic properties of CsCl,CsBr, and CsI crystals

The electronic structure and plastic properties are investigated for a number of alkali halide crystals (CsCl, CsBr, CsI). First-principles calculations are carried out within the Hartree-Fock and density-functional theory approximations using several variants of the exchange-correlation functional, including the hybrid exchange technique. The results obtained with the use of five methods are compared with the available experimental data. The tendencies revealed in the variations in the band parameters and plastic properties of the crystals under investigation are analyzed.     

Electronic structure and optical properties of LaNiO3: First-principles calculations

Using a first-principles method, we investigate the electronic structure and optical properties of rhombohedral LaNiO₃. The total density of states shows that there is no band gap and bulk LaNiO₃ is metallic. There is a strong hybridization between Ni and O orbits near the Fermi level, suggesting that the metallic nature of LaNiO₃ mainly originates from Ni 3d states and La atoms have no noticeable contribution to this. The absorption coefficient of LaNiO₃ is one order of magnitude less than that of nickel in the lower energy region (0–5 eV), and the interband optical transitions are mainly derived from O 2p and Ni 3d states. In reflectivity spectrum of LaNiO₃, there are three main reflectance peaks located at 0 eV, 15.6 eV and 22.9 eV, respectively. In the visible–ultraviolet energy range, the reflectivity of LaNiO₃ remarkably decreases with the increasing photon energy and the value is always smaller than that of nickel in the region.     

First-principles study on alloying stability, electronic structure, and mechanical properties of Al-based intermetallics

First-principles calculations were performed to study on alloying stability, electronic structure, and mechanical properties of Al-based intermetallic compounds (AlCu₃, AlCu₂Zr, and AlZr₃). The calculated results show that the lattice parameters obtained after full relaxation of crystalline cells are consistent with experimental data. The calculation of cohesive energies indicated that the structure stability of these Al-based intermetallics will become higher with increasing Zr element in crystal. The calculations of formation energies showed that AlCu₂Zr has the strongest alloying ability, followed by AlZr₃ and finally the AlCu₃. The further analysis find out that single-crystal elastic constants at zero-pressure satisfy the requirement of mechanical stability for cubic crystals. The calculations on the ratio of bulk modulus to shear modulus reveal that AlCu₂Zr can exhibit a good ductility, followed by AlCu₃, whereas AlZr₃ can have a poor ductility; however, for stiffness, these intermetallics show a converse order. The calculations on Poisson's ratio show that AlCu₃ is much more anisotropic than the other two intermetallics. In addition, calculations on densities of states indicate that the valence bonds of these intermetallics are attributed to the valence electrons of Cu 3d states for AlCu₃, Cu 3d, and Zr 4d states for AlCu₂Zr, and Al 3s, Zr 5s and 4d states for AlZr₃, respectively; in particular, the electronic structure of the AlZr₃ shows the strongest hybridization, leading to the worst ductility.     

Cluster calculations of the electronic structure of Fe4C

The electronic structure and magnetic properties of Fe₄C are investigated with the first-principles discrete variational method (DV) in spin-polarized case. It is used for the local spin density approximation of the density functional theory. Clusters of 21 and 27 atoms were adopted to represent the two non-equivalent iron sites in this compound. The calculated magnetic moments for the corner and face centered iron sites are 2.63\mu_B and 1.77\mu_B, respectively, which are in very good agreement with the experimental results. A collapse of the magnetic moment for both inequivalent iron sites was verified above 12% of contraction of the lattice spacing. The C atom acts as an acceptor for electrons in this host. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Structural and electronic properties of cubic SrHfO3 surface: First-principles calculations

Structural, electronic and chemical bonding properties of the (0 0 1) surface of cubic SrHfO₃ have been investigated with both SrO and HfO₂ termination using the plane-wave ultrasoft pseudopotential technique based on the first-principles density-functional theory. The relaxed structures of two slabs have been analyzed, which shows the interplanar distance of two slabs has the same changed trend. The electronic band structures and density of states of two slabs have been discussed, showing the reduced band gaps by comparison with those of bulk system. The chemical bonding between Sr and O between the surface layer and subsurface layer as well as Hf and O has been increased. The surface energy, work function and stability have been calculated, which indicates SrO-terminated slab is more stable.     

Elastic stability and electronic structure of tantalum boride investigated via first-principles density functional calculations

The elastic properties, electronic structure and thermodynamic behavior of the TaB have been investigated for the first time in this work. Using first-principles plane-wave ultrasoft-pseudopotential density functional theory (DFT), the ground state properties and equation of state of TaB have been obtained. The average zero-pressure bulk modulus of TaB is 302 GPa. By analyzing the elastically anisotropic behavior and the relative structure parameters of TaB, we found that the crystal cell along the b-axis was more compressible than along the a and c axes. The calculated ratio of bulk modulus and shear modulus (B/G) for TaB is 1.58, demonstrating that TaB is rather brittle. From the elastic stiffness constants, we found that TaB in the Cmcm phase is mechanically stable. The calculated hardness of TaB is 28.6 GPa which is close to the previous data. Moreover, using the Gibbs 2 model, the thermodynamic properties such as the thermal expansion and Debye temperature of TaB have been obtained firstly. At the ambient temperature, the Debye temperatures of TaB are 792 K and 845 K from GGA calculation and LDA calculation, respectively.     

First-principles calculations of electronic and magnetic properties of CeN： The LDA ＋ U method

Electronic and magnetic properties of CeN are investigated using first-principles calculations based on density func- tional theory （DFT） with the LDA ＋ U method. Our results show that CeN is a half-metal. The majority-spin electron band structure has metallic intersections, whereas the minority-spin electron band structure has a semiconducting gap straddling the Fermi level. A small indirect energy gap occurs between X and W. The calculated magnetic moment is 0.99 μb per unit cell.