Inelastic neutron scattering an ab-initio calculation of negative thermal expansion in Ag2O

The compound Ag₂O undergoes large and isotropic negative thermal expansion over 0–500 K. We report temperature dependent inelastic neutron scattering measurements and ab-initio calculations of the phonon spectrum. The temperature dependence of the experimental phonon spectrum shows strong anharmonic nature of phonon modes of energy around 2.4 meV. The ab-initio calculations reveal that the maximum negative Grüneisen parameter, which is a measure of the relevant anharmonicity, occurs for the transverse phonon modes that involve bending motions of the Ag₄O tetrahedra. The thermal expansion is evaluated from the ab-initio calculation of the pressure dependence of the phonon modes, and found in good agreement with available experimental data.     

Studies of high-temperature electron–phonon interactions with inelastic neutron scattering and first-principles computations

Several recent studies of phonons combining inelastic neutron scattering and first-principles calculations are summarized. Inelastic neutron scattering was used to measure the phonon densities of states of the A15 compounds V₃Si, V₃Ge, and V₃Co at temperatures from 10 K to 1273 K. It was found that phonons in V₃Si and V₃Ge, which are superconducting at low temperatures, exhibit an anomalous stiffening with increasing temperature, whereas phonons in V₃Co have a normal softening behavior. Additional measurements of the phonon DOS of BCC V alloys were performed, and it was found that a stiffening anomaly present in pure V is suppressed upon introduction of extra d-electrons by alloying. First-principles calculations of the electronic and phonon densities of states show that in both these systems, the anomalous phonon stiffening originates with an adiabatic electron–phonon coupling mechanism. The anomaly is caused by the thermally-induced broadening of sharp peaks in the electronic density of states, which tends to decrease the electronic density at the Fermi level. These results illustrate how the combined use of first-principles calculations and inelastic neutron scattering provides powerful insights into couplings of excitations in condensed-matter.     

Negative entropy of mixing for vanadium-platinum solutions

The phonon densities of states for pure vanadium and the solid solutions V-6.25% Ni, Pd, Pt were determined from inelastic neutron scattering measurements. The solute atoms caused a large stiffening of the phonons, resulting in large, negative vibrational entropies of mixing. For V-6.25%Pt, the negative vibrational entropy of mixing exceeds the conventional positive chemical entropy of mixing. This negative total entropy of mixing should extend to lower concentrations of Pt, and the effect on the bcc solvus line is discussed. The experimental data were inverted to obtain interatomic force constants by using a Born-von Kármán model with an iterative optimization algorithm. The stiffening of bonds responsible for the decrease of entropy was found to occur mainly in first-nearest-neighbor solute-host bonds, and correlates in part with the solute metallic radius.     

High pressure behavior of ZrW2O8: Gruneisen parameter and thermal properties

High pressure Raman spectroscopic studies are carried out on negative thermal expansion material ZrW2O8. The system exhibits amorphization at 2.2+/-0.3 GPa via an intermediate orthorhombic phase. In the cubic phase most modes below 50 meV are found to have negative Gruneisen parameter. Using the reported phonon density of states thermal properties are calculated and compared with the reported results. In contrast to the earlier belief, the present results show that modes of energies much higher than 10 meV also contribute substantially to the negative thermal expansion.     

Adiabatic electron-phonon interaction and high-temperature thermodynamics of A15 compounds

Inelastic neutron scattering was used to measure the phonon densities of states of the A15 compounds V3Si, V3Ge, and V3Co at temperatures from 10 to 1,273 K. It was found that phonons in V3Si and V3Ge, which are superconducting at low temperatures, exhibit an anomalous stiffening with increasing temperature, whereas phonons in V3Co have a normal softening behavior. First-principles calculations show that this anomalous increase in phonon frequencies at high temperatures originates with an adiabatic electron-phonon coupling mechanism. The anomaly is caused by the thermally induced broadening of sharp peaks in the electronic density of states of V3Si and V3Ge, which tends to decrease the electronic density at the Fermi level. These results show that the adiabatic electron-phonon coupling can influence the phonon thermodynamics at temperatures exceeding 1,000 K.     

Unusual low-energy phonon dynamics in the negative thermal expansion compound ZrW2O8

An infrared study of the phonon spectra of ZrW2O8 as a function of temperature which includes the low-energy (2-10 meV) region relevant to negative thermal expansion is reported and discussed in the context of specific heat and neutron density of state results. The prevalence of infrared active phonons at low energy and their observed temperature dependence are highly unusual and indicative of exotic low-energy lattice dynamics. Eigenvector calculations indicate a mixing of librational and translational motion within each low-frequency IR mode. The role of the underconstrained structure in establishing the nature of these modes and the relationship between the IR spectra and the large negative thermal expansion in ZrW2O8 are discussed.     

Thermal expansion and lattice dynamics under pressure of ZnS,ZnSe and ZnTe

The thermal expansion against temperature of ZnS, ZnSe and ZnTe is studied theoretically using the experimental pressure dependence of elastic stiffness constants and phonon frequencies. The mode Grüneisen parameters obtained from the high pressure effect on the one- and two- phonon Raman spectra at the metallic transition pressure by Weinstein are used originally, but do not reproduce the experimental linear expansion coefficient at high temperatures. The contributions from optical modes with large phonon frequency are important to the thermal expansion at high temperatures, and a set of mode Grüneisen parameters, which bring good agreement with the observed linear expansion coefficient not only at low temperatures, but also at high temperatures, are obtained. Then, the phonon dispersion curves of ZnS, ZnSe and ZnTe at their metallic transition pressures are quantitatively shown.     

Origin of negative thermal expansion in cubic ZrW2O8 revealed by high pressure inelastic neutron scattering

Isotropic negative thermal expansion has been reported in cubic ZrW2O8 over a wide range of temperatures (0-1050 K). Here we report the direct experimental determination of the Grüneisen parameters of phonon modes as a function of their energy, averaged over the whole Brillouin zone, by means of high pressure inelastic neutron scattering measurements. We observe a pronounced softening of the phonon spectrum at P = 1.7 kbar compared to that at ambient pressure by about 0.1-0.2 meV for phonons of energy below 8 meV. This unusual phonon softening on compression, corresponding to large negative Grüneisen parameters, is able to account for the observed large negative thermal expansion.     

Raman scattering from CuBr and CuI

Detailed temperature-dependent Raman spectra of CuI and CuBr are reported for the first time. Spectra have been recorded between room temperature and 6K. Peaks arising from scattering by the zone-center optic phonon modes have been identified and their frequencies compared with those determined by neutron scattering and infrared measurements. The LO phonon energy in CuBr is found to reflect the negative thermal expansion at low temperatures while the TO phonon frequency does not follow this behavior. Second-order features of the CuI spectrum are identified using available phonon dispersion curves.     

负膨胀材料Zn(CN)_2和Cd(CN)_2的晶格振动分析

运用群论理论对负膨胀系数材料Zn(CN)2和Cd(CN)2的晶格振动进行了对称性分类,利用第一性原理密度泛函理论计算了它们布里渊区中心点的声子频率和Grüneisen参数,根据计算得到的各个模式所对应的本征矢对各个振动模式进行了指认,根据各模式Grüneisen参数讨论了负膨胀机理。在11个光学振动模式中,一个属于Zn/Cd原子的晶格振动模,位于223 cm-1/154 cm-1;5个属于C≡N刚性单元平移振动模;3个属于C≡N刚性单元天平动;2个属于C≡N刚性单元内振动。有7个振动模为拉曼活性,4个振动模为红外活性,两个振动模红外和拉曼均为非活性。C≡N刚性单元的3个低频平移振动模和全部天平动模的Grüneisen参数为负,对负热膨胀的产生有贡献,振动频率为47 cm-1的平移振动模具有最大的负Grüneisen参数,对负膨胀贡献最大。     

Unusual phonon softening in delta-phase plutonium

The phonon density of states and adiabatic sound velocities were measured on fcc-stabilized 242Pu0.95Al0.05. The phonon frequencies and sound velocities decrease considerably (soften) with increasing temperature despite negligible thermal expansion. The frequency softening of the transverse branch along the [111] direction is anomalously large ( approximately 30%) and is very sensitive to alloy composition. The large magnitude of the phonon softening is not observed in any other fcc metals and may arise from an unusual temperature dependence of the electronic structure in this narrow 5f-band metal.     

Phonon density of states in nanocrystalline<Superscript>57</Superscript>Fe

The Born-von Karman model is used to calculate phonon density of states (DOS) of nanocrystalline bcc Fe. It is found that there is an anisotropic stiffening in the interatomic force constants and hence there is shrinking in the nearest-neighbour distances in the nanophase. This leads to additional vibrational modes above the bulk phonons near the bottom of the phonon band. It is found that the high energy phonon modes of nanophase Fe are the surface modes. The calculated phonon DOS closely agree with the experimental data except a peak at 37 meV. The calculated phonon dispersion relations are also compared with those of the bulk phonons and anomalous behaviour is discussed in detail. The specific heat in nanophase enhances as compared to bulk phase at low temperatures and the calculated Debye temperature Θ_D agrees with the experimental results. It is predicted that the nanocrystalline Fe may consist of about 14 GPa pressure     

A quantum field theory of localized and resonant modes in 3D nonlinear lattices at finite temperatures II

We solve the eigenvalue equation derived in paper I under the assumption that a localized or resonant mode is well-localized at a lattice site. Localized modes appear above the top of the phonon band for an appropriate positive quartic potential at any temperatures. Resonant modes appear in the middle of the phonon band for an appropriate negative quartic potential at low temperatures due to the frequency dependent coupling of the mode. This fact is essentially different from that in the force constant defect, where resonant modes appear in the lower frequency regions due to the frequency independent couplings. Both modes are investigated numerically using the tables of the Green's functions for monoatomic simple cubic lattices in terms of the Bessel functions. Resonant modes are also investigated in the Debye approximation.     

三氨基三硝基苯基高聚物粘结炸药热力学性质的理论计算研究

高聚物粘结炸药(PBX)的热力学性质是用于炸药结构响应、安全性评估、数值模拟分析等的重要参数.由于PBX结构的多尺度特性,完全采取实验方法精细表征这些参数存在巨大的挑战.本文运用第一性原理和分子动力学计算的方法,系统研究了三氨基三硝基苯(TATB)基高聚物粘结炸药的热力学参数和界面热传导性质.利用散射失配模型研究了TATB与聚偏二氟乙烯(PVDF)界面的热传导过程,发现热导率随温度升高而上升,并且在高温情况下接近于定值.基于分子动力学获得的TATB热导率并结合界面热导率,分析了PBX炸药的热导与颗粒尺寸的关系,当颗粒尺寸大于100 nm时,界面热阻对于PBX热导率的影响有限.     

The thermal expansion of GaP below room temperature

The thermal expansion of GaP is estimated theoretically as a function of temperature using the experimental pressure dependence of elastic stiffness constants and phonon frequencies. The numerical values of the linear expansion coefficient and the Grüneisen constant do not become negative at low temperatures, contrary to other tetrahedrally bonded covalent solids. This positive thermal expansion of GaP at low temperatures is closely connected with the small values of the transverse acoustical mode Grüneisen parameter and with the large value of the metallic phase transition pressure from the linear correlation obtained by Weinstein.     

Dynamics of the phase-change material GeTe across the structural phase transition

Results of inelastic neutron scattering experiments and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations for GeTe – the parent compound of phase-change materials are reported. The inelastic neutron spectra of GeTe powder samples have been determined in the temperature range extending from 300 to 700 K. The phonon peaks undergo thermal shifts resulting from anharmonic effects being weaker for acoustic than optic modes. A small concentration of free charge carries arising from the presence of Ge-vacancies was found not to affect significantly the neutron weighted phonon densities of states of GeTe. The spectral pattern changes qualitatively across the structural phase transition, but the local structure of GeTe remains hardly affected, as confirmed by the analysis of temperature dependence of the pairdistribution function obtained from ab initio molecular dynamics investigations. The present theoretical studies support in a wide extent our experimental observations and also those provided by local probe methods.     

Optically pumped GaN/AlGaN quantum well intersubband terahertz laser

We propose an optically pumped nonpolar GaN/AlGaN quantum well (QW) active region design for terahertz (THz) lasing in the wavelength range of 30 μm～ 40 μm and operating at room temperature. The fast longitudinal optical (LO) phonon scattering in GaN/AlGaN QWs is used to depopulate the lower laser state, and more importantly, the large LO phonon energy is utilized to reduce the thermal population of the lasing states at high temperatures. The influences of temperature and pump intensity on gain and electron densities are investigated. Based on our simulations, we predict that with a sufficiently high pump intensity, a room temperature operated THz laser using a nonpolar GaN/AlGaN structure is realizable.     

Thermal properties of high-k Hf_1-xSi_xO₂

Classical atomistic simulations based on the lattice dynamics theory and the Born core-shell model are performed to systematically study the crystal structure and thermal properties of high-k Hf1-xSixO2 . The coefficients of thermal expansion, specific heat, Grneisen parameters, phonon densities of states and Debye temperatures are calculated at different temperatures and for different Si-doping concentrations. With the increase of the Si-doping concentration, the lattice constant decreases. At the same time, both the coefficient of thermal expansion and the specific heat at a constant volume of Hf1-xSixO2 also decreases. The Grneisen parameter is about 0.95 at temperatures less than 100 K. Compared with Si-doped HfO2 , pure HfO2 has a higher Debye temperature when the temperature is less than 25 K, while it has lower Debye temperature when the temperature is higher than 50 K. Some simulation results fit well with the experimental data. We expect that our results will be helpful for understanding the local lattice structure and thermal properties of Hf1-xSixO2 .     

Anharmonic behaviour of BaFCl using Raman scattering

Raman scattering from oriented single crystals of BaFCl was recorded at various temperatures from 20 to 1073 K for the first time. The Raman spectra, corrected for phonon population, were fitted to the sum of four Lorentzian peaks. The peak frequencies and full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the peaks were obtained from the fit. The FWHM is accounted for by cubic and quartic anharmonic processes. The quartic anharmonicity of the mode increases with the mode frequency. The quartic anharmonicity of the fluorine mode is exceptionally high. The peak frequencies decrease linearly with the increasing temperature. Fluorine mode frequencies decrease more than the internal mode frequencies do. The LO-TO splitting of the fluorine modes and that of the internal modes increases with temperature indicating the increase of the ionic bonding character. The results are discussed. Received: 12 May 1997 / Accepted: 25 July 1997     

石墨烯低温热膨胀和声子弛豫时间随温度的变化规律

考虑到原子非简谐振动和电子-声子相互作用,用固体物理理论和方法研究了石墨烯格林艾森参量和低温热膨胀系数以及声子弛豫时间随温度的变化规律,探讨了原子非简谐振动项对它们的影响.结果表明:1)在低于室温的温度范围内,石墨烯的热膨胀系数为负值,随着温度的升高,其热膨胀系数的绝对值单调增加,室温热膨胀系数为-3.64×10~(-6)K~(-1);2)简谐近似下的格林艾森参量为零.考虑到非简谐项后,格林艾森参量在1.40-1.42之间并随温度升高而缓慢增大,几乎成线性关系,第二非简谐项对格林艾森参量的影响小于第一非简谐项;3)石墨烯声子弛豫时间随着温度的升高而减小,其中,温度很低(T10 K)时变化很快,此后变化很慢,当温度不太低(T300 K)时,声子弛豫时间与温度几乎成反比关系.