Structural and electronic properties of hexagonal ain under pressure

Abstract

Electronic and ground state properties of wurtzite-structure AIN are evaluated in the local density approximation using norm-conserving non-local pseudopotentials. The resulting lattice constants are a = 3.136 Å and c = 4.990 Å. The calculated internal parameter u = 0.3825 deviates considerably from the “ideal” value u = 0.375. Also calculated are the electronic charge density, bulk modulus and its pressure derivative.     

Structural, electronic and optical properties of AgI under pressure

We report results of first-principles total-energy calculations for structural properties of the group I-VII silver iodide (AgI) semiconductor compound under pressure for B1 (rocksalt), B2 (cesium chloride), B3 (zinc-blende) and B4 (wurtzite) structures. Calculations have been performed using all-electron full-potential linearized augmented plane wave plus local orbitals FP-LAPW + lo method based on density-functional theory (DFT) and using generalised gradient approximation (GGA) for the purpose of exchange correlation energy functional. In agreement with experimental and earlier ab initio calculations, we find that the B3 phase is slightly lower in energy than the B4 phase, and it transforms to B1 structure at 4.19 GPa. Moreover, we found AgI has direct gap in B3 structure with a band gap of 1.378 eV and indirect band gap in B1 phase with a bandgap around 0.710 eV. We also present results of the effective masses for the electrons in the conduction band (CB) and the holes in the valence band (VB). To complete the fundamental characteristics of this compound we have analyzed their linear optical properties such as the dynamic dielectric function and energy loss function for a wide range of 0-25 eV.     

Structural, electronic and vibrational properties of InN under high pressure

The structural, electronic and vibrational properties of InN under pressures up to 20 GPa have been investigated using the pseudo-potential plane wave method (PP-PW). The generalized-gradient approximation (GGA) in the frame of density functional theory (DFT) approach has been adopted. It is found that the transition from wurtzite (B4) to rocksalt (B1) phase occurs at a pressure of approximately 12.7 GPa. In addition, a change from a direct to an indirect band gap is observed. The mechanism of these changes is discussed. The phonon frequencies and densities of states (DOS) are derived using the linear response approach and density functional perturbation theory (DFPT). The properties of phonons are described by the harmonic approximation method. Our results show that phonons play an important role in the mechanism of phase transition and in the instability of B4 (wurtzite) just before the pressure of transition. At zero pressure our data agree well with recently reported experimental results.     

Structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of CrN under high pressure

The structural,electronic and magnetic properties of CrN under high pressure are investigated by first-principles calculations.The antiferromagnetic orthorhombic structure is identified to be the preferred ground state structure.It possesses a bulk modulus of 252.8 GPa and the nonzero magnetic moment of 2.33 μ B per Cr ion,which agree well with the experimental results.CrN undergoes structural and magnetic transitions from an antiferromagnetic rocksalt structure to a non-magnetic Pnma phase at 132 GPa.Under compression,the magnetic moment of the Cr ion reduces rapidly near the equilibrium and phase transition point,and the distribution of the density of states is broadened,but the form of overlap between the orbitals of Cr d and N p remains unchanged.The broadening of the band induces spin flipping,which consequently results in the smaller magnetic moment of the Cr ion.     

Structural and electronic properties of solid naphthalene under pressure: density functional calculations

The pressure effect on the geometrical and electronic structures of crystallinenaphthalene is calculated up to 30 GPa by performing density functional calculations. Thelattice parameters a, b, and c, decrease by 1.77 Å (–20.4%), 0.85 Å (–14.1%),and 0.91 Å (–8.2%), respectively, while the monoclinic angle β increasesby 3.95° in this pressureregion. At the highest pressure of 30 GPa the unit cell volume decreases by 62.7%. Thedetailed analysis of the molecular arrangement within crystal structure reveals that themolecular motion becomes more and more localized, and hints towards the evolution ofintermolecular interaction with pressure. Moreover, the electronic structure ofnaphthalene under high pressure is also discussed. A pressure induced decrease of the bandgap is observed.     

Structural and electronic properties of ZnO under high pressures

In this work, we use first-principles calculations based on density-functional theory within the local-density approximation (LDA) to investigate the structural and electronic properties of ZnO under high-pressure. We have calculated the ground-state energy, the lattice constant, the bulk modulus, and its pressure derivative of the B4 (wurtzie), B3 (zinc blende), B2 (CsCl) and B1 (rocksalt) phases of ZnO. Moreover, the electronic structure, density of states (DOS) of the B4 (wurtzite) and B1 (rocksalt) phases of ZnO have been calculated. We show that our calculated values compare acceptably well with values reported in the literature.     

Structural and optical properties of InSe under pressure

Abstract

We have investigated the high pressure behavior of InSe by x-ray powder diffraction and optical measurements. The rhombohedral γ-polytype of InSe (space group R3m) exhibits a strongly anisotropic compressibility characteristic of the layer-type structure. Mode Gruneisen parameters of intralayer modes have been determined by Raman scattering. At 10.3(5) GPa InSe undergoes a phase transition to the rocksalt structure, which remains stable up to at least 30 GPa. Optical reflectivity measurements show the cubic high pressure phase to have metallic character.     

Structural and electronic properties of carbon nanotubes under hydrostatic pressures

We studied the structural and electronic properties of carbon nanotubes under hydrostatic pressures based on molecular dynamics simulations and first principles band structure calculations. It is found that carbon nanotubes experience a hard-to-soft transition as external pressure increases. The bulk modulus of soft phase is two orders of magnitude smaller than that of hard phase. The band structure calculations show that band gap of (10, 0) nanotube increases with the increase of pressure at low pressures. Above a critical pressure (5.70GPa), band gap of (10, 0) nanotube drops rapidly and becomes zero at 6.62GPa. Moreover, the calculated charge density shows that a large pressure can induce an {sp}²-to-{sp}³ bonding transition, which is confirmed by recent experiments on deformed carbon nanotubes.     

Tunable InSb detectors under uniaxial and hydrostatic pressure

We report on n-InSb photoconductive detectors, which are either mounted on different substrates (metals and synthetic materials) or embedded in a special glue. If these detectors are cooled to 4.2 K, the different coefficients of expansion provide either a uniaxial or a hydrostatic pressure. This pressure causes a shift of the resonances (for the mounted detectors up to 5.5%, for the embedded detector 5.8% at 2.3 T) and a freeze out of electrons, which results in a decrease of the cyclotron resonance (CR) signal in comparison to the impurity cyclotron resonance (ICR) signal for the embedded detector.     

Structural stability and electronic properties of AgInS<Subscript>2</Subscript> under pressure

We employ state-of-the-art ab initio density functional theory techniques to investigatethe structural, dynamical, mechanical stability and electronic properties of the ternaryAgInS₂ compoundsunder pressure. Using cohesive energy and enthalpy, we found that from the six potentialphases explored, the chalcopyrite and the orthorhombic structures were very competitive aszero pressure phases. A pressure-induced phase transition occurs around 1.78 GPa from the low pressure chalcopyritephase to a rhombohedral RH-AgInS₂ phase. The pressure phase transition around 1.78 GPa isaccompanied by notable changes in the volume and bulk modulus. The calculations of thephonon dispersions and elastic constants at different pressures showed that thechalcopyrite and the orthorhombic structures remained stable at all the selected pressure(0, 1.78 and 2.5 GPa), where detailed calculations were performed, while the rhombohedralstructure is only stable from the transition pressure 1.78 GPa. Pressure effect on thebandgap is minimal due to the small range of pressure considered in this study. Themeta-GGA MBJ functional predicts bandgaps which are in good agreement with availableexperimental values.     

Structural stabilities, electronic, elastic and optical properties of SrTe under pressure: A first-principles study

The structural, electronic, elastic and optical properties as well as phase transition under pressure of SrTe have been systematically investigated by first-principles pesudopotential calculations. Five possible phases of SrTe have been considered. Our results show that SrTe undergoes a phase transition from NaCl-type (B1) to CsCl-type (B2) structure at 10.9 GPa with a volume collapse of 9.43%, and no further transition is found. We find that SrTe prefer h-MgO instead of wurtzite (B4) structure for its metastable phase because that the ionic compound prefers a high coordination. The elastic moduli, energy band structures, real and imaginary parts of the dielectric functions have been calculated for all considered phases, and we find that a smaller energy gap yields a larger high-frequency dielectric constant. Our calculated results are discussed and compared with the available experimental and theoretical data.     

Structural and elastic properties of TiN under high pressure

We have investigated the structural and elastic properties of TiN at high pressures by the first-principles plane wave pseudopotential density functional theory method at applied pressures up to 45.4 GPa. The obtained normalized volume dependence of the resulting pressure is in excellent agreement with the experimental data investigated using synchrotron radial x-ray diffraction (RXRD) under nonhydrostatic compression up to 45.4 GPa in a diamond-anvil cell. Three independent elastic constants at zero pressure and high pressure are calculated. From the obtained elastic constants, the bulk modulus, Young's modulus, shear modulus, acoustic velocity and Debye temperature as a function of the applied pressure are also successfully obtained.     

Crystal structures and electronic properties of solid fluorine under high pressure

As the previously proposed structures of C2/m and C2/c possess similar enthalpies and x-ray diffraction patterns, the space group of fluorine at ambient pressure is in controversy. We successfully obtain its thermodynamically stable lowpressure phase, which shares the same structure as the earlier known C2/c. Further investigations on phonon spectra reveal the instability of the C2/m structure with imaginary frequency in the Brillouin zone and confirm the dynamically stable property of the C2/c structure at the same time. Compressing fluorine up to 8 GPa, the C2/c phase is found to undergo a phase transition to a new structure with a space group of Cmca. Electronic energy band structures indicate the insulating feature of C2/c and Cmca with no bands across the Fermi level. The infrared(IR) and Raman spectra of C2/c and Cmca at selected pressures are calculated to provide useful information to future experiments.     

Structural, electronic and optical properties of high pressure stable phases of ZnTe

We have performed full potential linear augmented plane wave calculations to investigate the pressure induced phase transition in ZnTe. Total energies of three phases (zinc-blende, cinnabar and Cmcm) are calculated using density functional theory formalism under generalized gradient approximation and Engel-Vosko generalized gradient approximation for the exchange correlation potential approximation. The pressure stability corresponding to zinc-blende, cinnabar and Cmcm phases of ZnTe are computed. We find that cinnabar phase could be formed as a metastable phase by releasing pressure from the high pressure Cmcm phase. The obtained structural, electronic and optical results are compared with previous calculations and available experimental data. Overall good agreement is found.     

Structural and electronic properties of rock salt phase of ZnO under compression

Structural and electronic properties of rock salt phase of ZnO under high pressure have been reinvestigated in the light of some recent experimental results. Behavior of direct and indirect energy band gap under increasing pressure is analyzed on account of overlapping of p (O) and d (Zn) orbitals and the results are compared with other theoretical studies. An empirical relation involving elemental electronegativity is suggested to estimate the change in band gap under increasing pressure. Furthermore, phase transformation of ZnO into other possible structures is also discussed and their structural and electronic properties analyzed.     

Structural and electronic properties of GaAsBi

The structural and electronic properties of the GaAs_1−xBi_x ternary alloy are investigated by means of two first principles and full potential methods, the linear augmented plane waves (FPLAPW) method and a recent version of the full potential linear muffin-tin orbitals method (FPLMTO) which enables an accurate treatment of the interstitial regions. In particular, we have found that the maximal GaBi mole fraction x for which GaBi_xAs_1−x remains a semiconductor is probably around x=0.5. The electronic properties of (GaAs)_m/(GaBi)_n quantum well superlattices (SLs) have also been calculated and it is found that such SLs are semiconductors when m is larger or equal to n.     

Structural, electronic and optical properties of SrCl2 under hydrostatic stress

The results of first-principles theoretical study of the structural, electronic and optical properties of SrCl₂ in its cubic structure, have been performed using the full-potential linear augmented plane-wave method plus local orbitals (FP-APW+lo) as implemented in the WIEN2k code. In this approach both the local density approximation (LDA) and the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) are used for the exchange-correlation (XC) potential. Also we have used the Engel-Vosko GGA formalism, which optimizes the corresponding potential for band structure calculations. We performed these calculations with and without spin-orbit interactions. Including spin-orbit coupling cause to lifts the triple degeneracy at Γ point and a double degeneracy at X point. Results are given for structural properties. The pressure dependence of elastic constants and band gaps are investigated. The dielectric function, reflectivity spectra and refractive index are calculated up to 30 eV. Also we calculated the pressure and volume dependence of the static optical dielectric constant.     

Phase transition,electronic and optical properties of III-Sb compounds under pressure

III-V semiconductors are the backbone of optoelectronic industry. Here, we have performed first principle calculations to investigate the structural, electronic and optical properties of III-Sb (III = B, Al, Ga, Sb) compounds under the effect of pressure. The structural phase transition from zincblende to rocksalt phases is determined by the common tangent of the two E–V curves. The obtained results are in good agreement with the available literature. Compounds make electronic transition from semiconductors to metals under pressure. The calculated band structure in zincblende structure was compared with experimental and theoretical findings. Optical properties including real and imaginary parts of the complex dielectric function, frequency-dependent reflectivity and optical conductivity are explained to characterize the optical nature of these compounds in both phases.     

Mechanical,electronic and thermodynamic properties of TE-C36 under high pressure

The structural parameters, mechanical, electronic and thermodynamic properties of TE-C36 under high pressure were calculated via the density functional theory in combination with the quasi-harmonic Debye model. The results show that the pressure has significant effects on the equilibrium structure parameters, mechanical, electronic and thermodynamic properties of TE-C36. The obtained ground state structural parameters are in good agreement with previous theoretical results. The mechanically and dynamically stable under pressure were confirmed by the calculated elastic constants and phonon dispersion spectra. The elastic constants, elastic modulus, B/G ratio, Poisson’s ratio and Vicker’s hardness were determined in the pressure range of 0–100?GPa. The elastic anisotropy of TE-C36 under pressure are also determined in detail. The electronic structure calculations reveal that TE-C36 remains a direct band gap semiconductor when the pressure changes from 0 to 100?GPa, and the band gap decreases with increasing pressure. Furthermore, the pressure and temperature dependence of thermal expansion coefficient, heat capacity and Debye temperature are predicted in a wide pressure (0–90?GPa) and temperature (0–2500?K) ranges. The obtained results are expected to provide helpful guidance for the future synthesis and application of TE-C36.