Stress and strain effects on the electronic structure and optical properties of ScN monolayer

Based on the density functional theory, electronic and optical properties of a monolayer scandium nitride structure have been studied under different strain conditions. Our results indicate that both biaxial compressive and tensile strain effects lead to change the band gap of this structure with different rates. Also, optical absorption spectrum peaks experience an obvious red and blue shifts with the exerting of tensile and compressive strains, respectively. Our results express that ScN monolayer can be the promising candidate for the future nano-base electrical and optical devices.     

First principles investigation of electronic and optical properties of AgAlO2

The electronic and optical properties of AgAlO₂ were determined by using Generalized Gradient Approximation (GGA) suggested by Perdew–Burke–Ernzerhof (PBE) with the addition of Hubbard potential along with linearized augmented plane wave pseudopotential. Our computed band structure infers that our calculated bandgap (1.5?eV) is closer to the experimental (2.81?eV) as compare to the previous theoretical values (1.16?eV). The investigated band structure also reflects that AgAlO₂ is an indirect semiconductor material. The investigated atomic positions and lattice constants are in good agreement with the experimental values than the earlier theoretical values. From presented optical properties one can observe that AgAlO₂ is a good conducting material. The absorption spectrum infers that AgAlO₂ is an expensive material for photo-electronic devices or solar-cell applications.     

Density functional investigation of structural, electronic and optical properties of Ge-doped ZnO

Recent experiments reported fascinating phenomenon of photoluminescence (PL) blueshift in Ge-doped ZnO. To understand it, we examined the structural, electronic and optical properties of Ge-doped ZnO (ZnO:Ge) systematically by means of density functional theory calculations. Our results show that Ge atoms tend to cluster in heavily doped ZnO. Ge clusters can limit the conductivity of doped ZnO but reinforce the near-band-edge emission. The substitutional Ge for Zn leads to Fermi level pinning in the conduction band, which indicates Ge-doped ZnO is of n-type conductivity character. It is found that the delocalized Ge 4s states hybridize with conduction band bottom, and is dominant in the region near the Fermi level, suggesting that Ge-4s states provides major free carriers in ZnO:Ge crystal. The observed blueshift of PL in Ge-doped ZnO originates from the electron transition energy from the valence band to the empty levels above Fermi level larger than the gap of undoped ZnO. The electron transition between the gap states induced by oxygen vacancy and conduction band minimum may be the origin of the new PL peak at 590 nm.     

Theoretical analysis of surface plasmon resonance based fiber optic sensor using indium nitride

An extremely sensitive surface plasmon resonance based fiber optic sensor with indium nitride (InN) layer coated on the core of the optical fiber is theoretically analyzed. The proposed sensor exhibits high sensitivity in the near infrared region of spectrum. The optimized value of thickness of InN layer is found to be 70 nm. Possessing high sensitivity of 4493 nm/RIU, the 70 nm thick InN layer based fiber optic SPR sensor illustrates good sensing behavior.     

Tuning the electronic properties of single-walled SiC nanotubes by external electric field

The electronic properties of SiC nanotubes (SiCNTs) under external transverse electric field were investigated using density functional theory. The pristine SiCNTs were semiconductors with band-gaps of 2.03, 2.17 and 2.25 eV for (6,6), (8,8) and (10,10) SiCNTs, respectively. It was found the band gaps was reduced with the external transverse electric filed applied. The (8,8) and (10,10) SiCNTs changed from semiconductor to metals as the intensity of electric field reached 0.7 and 0.5 V/Å. The results indicate that the electronic properties of SiCNTs can be tuned by the transvers electric field with integrality of the nanotubes.     

First-principles study of the structural, elastic, electronic and optical properties of the monoclinic BiScO3

The structural, elastic, electronic and optical properties of the monoclinic BiScO₃ are investigated in the framework of the density functional theory. The calculated structural parameters are in agreement with the experimental values. Moreover, the structural stability of BiScO₃ system has been confirmed by the calculated elastic constants. The band structure, density of states, charge transfers and bond populations are also given. The results indicate that BiScO₃ has a direct band gap of 3.36 eV between the occupied O 2p states and unoccupied Bi 6p states, and its bonding behavior is a combination of covalent and ionic nature. Finally, the absorption spectrum, refractive index, extinction coefficient, reflectivity, energy-loss function and dielectric function of the monoclinic BiScO₃ are calculated. In addition, the variation of the static dielectric constants ε₁(0) as a function of pressure for BiScO₃ is also discussed.     

First principles study of structural and electronic properties of different phases of boron nitride

A theoretical study of structural and electronic properties of the four phases of BN (zincblende, wurtzite, hexagonal and rhombohedral) is presented. The calculations are done by full potential (linear) augmented plane wave plus local orbitals (APW+lo) method based on the density functional theory (DFT) as employed in WIEN2k code. Using the local density approximation (LDA) and generalized gradient approximation (GGA-PBE) for the exchange correlation energy functional, we have calculated lattice parameters, bulk modulus, its pressure derivative and cohesive energy. In order to calculate electronic band structure, another form of the generalized gradient approximation proposed by Engel and Vosko (GGA-EV) has been employed along with LDA and GGA-PBE. It is found that all the three approximations exhibit similar band structure qualitatively. However, GGA-EV gives energy band gap values closer to the measured data. Our results for structural and electronic properties are compared with the experimental and other theoretical results wherever these are available.     

Tuning electronic properties of the S_2/graphene heterojunction by strains from density functional theory

Based on the density functional calculations, the structural and electronic properties of the WS_2/graphene heterojunction under different strains are investigated. The calculated results show that unlike the free mono-layer WS_2, the monolayer WS_2 in the equilibrium WS_2/graphene heterojunctionis characterized by indirect band gap due to the weak van der Waals interaction. The height of the schottky barrier for the WS_2/graphene heterojunction is 0.13 eV, which is lower than the conventional metal/MoS_2 contact. Moreover, the band properties and height of schottky barrier for WS_2/graphene heterojunction can be tuned by strain. It is found that the height of the schottky barrier can be tuned to be near zero under an in-plane compressive strain, and the band gap of the WS_2 in the heterojunction is turned into a direct band gap from the indirect band gap with the increasing schottky barrier height under an in-plane tensile strain. Our calculation results may provide a potential guidance for designing and fabricating the WS_(2~-)based field effect transistors.     

Structural,electronic and optical properties of Ca3Bi2: First-principles investigation

In this work by applying first principles calculations structural, electronic and optical properties of Ca₃Bi₂ compound in hexagonal and cubic phases are studied within the framework of the density functional theory using the full potential linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) approach. According to our study band gap for Ca₃Bi₂ in hexagonal phase are 0.47, 0.96 and 1?eV within the PBE-GGA, EV-GGA and mBJ-GGA, respectively. The corresponding values for cubic phase are 1.24, 2.08 and 2.14?eV, respectively. The effects of hydrostatic pressure on the behavior of the electronic properties such as band gap, valence bandwidths and anti-symmetry gap are investigated. It is found that the hydrostatic pressure increases the band widths of all bands below the Fermi energy while it decreases the band gap and the anti-symmetry gap. In our calculations, the dielectric tensor is derived within the random phase approximation (RPA). The first absorption peak in imaginary part of dielectric function for both phases is located in the energy range 2.0–2.5?eV which are beneficial to practical applications in optoelectronic devices in the visible spectral range. For instance, hexagonal phase of Ca₃Bi₂ with a band gap around 1?eV can be applied for photovoltaic application and cubic phase with a band gap of 2?eV can be used for water splitting application. Moreover, we found the optical spectra of hexagonal phase are anisotropic along E||x and E||z.     

Cd、Sr掺杂Mg2Ge电子结构和光学性质的第一性原理研究

此文用基于密度泛函理论(DFT)的第一性原理计算方法,分别研究了本征、掺Cd、掺Sr的Mg₂Ge的能带结构、电子态密度和光学性质.研究结果表明,本征Mg₂Ge是一种间接带隙半导体,带隙值为0.228eV.Sr的掺入使其变成带隙为0.591 eV的直接带隙半导体,Cd掺杂Mg₂Ge后表现出半金属性质.掺杂后的主要吸收峰减小,吸收谱范围增加.在可见光能量范围内,掺杂的Mg₂Ge有更低的反射率,对可见光的利用率增强.此外,掺杂还提高了高能区的光电导率.     

Electronic energy gaps and optical properties of LaMnO3

We investigate electronic structure and optical properties of LaMnO₃ through density-functional-theory calculations with a recent improved exchange potential. Calculated gaps are consistent with recent experimental values, and calculated optical conductivities and dielectric constants as functions of photon energy are in excellent agreement with low-temperature experimental results. These lead to a satisfactory theoretical understanding of the electronic gaps and optical properties of LaMnO₃ without tuning atomic parameters and can help elucidate electronic structures and magnetic properties of other manganite materials.     

The effects of indium segregation on the valence band structure and optical gain of GaInAs/GaAs quantum wells

The effects of indium segregation on the valence band structures and the optical gain in GaInAs/GaAs quantum wells are theoretically investigated using 4×4 Luttinger–Kohn Hamiltonian matrix. The method for the band structure calculation is based on the finite difference method, then the optical gain is calculated using the density matrix approach. For segregation coefficient R less than 0.7, indium segregation has little influence on optical gain, but for segregation coefficient R more than 0.7, it has a significant influence on optical gain, the gain spectra can be blue-shifted with the increase of segregation coefficient R, and the peak gains are decreased as segregation coefficient R increases, which is mainly due to the reduction of the carrier population inversion.     

Effect of phosphorus on the electronic and optical properties of naphthoxaphospholes: theoretical investigation

Density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT calculations were performed to elucidate the electronic and optical properties of 2-R-naphthol[2,3-d]oxaphospholes (R-NOPs). On the basis of the calculated results, the poor π overlap between the 3p_z orbital of P atom and the 2p_z orbitals of other atoms and increasing polarity of P atom result in a reduced energy gap between the highest occupied molecular orbital and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital. When these two effects are considered simultaneously, the absorption energies obtained for the S₁ state can be below 3.00 eV according to replace the P atom of oxaphosphole ring by As atom (increasing the poor π overlap) and change the functional groups (increasing polarity). The origin of these two effects is the inherent size of the 3p orbital of P atom. The role of P atom in the control of the electronic and optical properties of R-NOPs is clearly elucidated.     

Tunable electronic properties of GaS-SnS2 heterostructure by strain and electric field

Vertically stacked heterostructures have received extensive attention because of their tunable electronic structures and outstanding optical properties. In this work, we study the structural, electronic, and optical properties of vertically stacked GaS-SnS₂ heterostructure under the frame of density functional theory. We find that the stacked GaS-SnS₂ heterostructure is a semiconductor with a suitable indirect band gap of 1.82 eV, exhibiting a type-II band alignment for easily separating the photo-generated carriers. The electronic properties of GaS-SnS₂ heterostructure can be effectively tuned by an external strain and electric field. The optical absorption of GaS-SnS₂ heterostructure is more enhanced than those of the GaS monolayer and SnS₂ monolayer in the visible light region. Our results suggest that the GaS-SnS₂ heterostructure is a promising candidate for the photocatalyst and photoelectronic devices in the visible light region.     

Effects of aluminum vacancies on electronic structure and optical properties of Ta4AlC3: A first principles study

We investigated the effect of aluminum vacancies (V_Al) on the structural, electronic and optical properties of Ta₄Al_1−xC₃ (x=0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75) based on the first-principle calculation using density functional theory. We found that the lattice constant a remains almost unchanged with the variation of V_Al concentration, while c and c/a ratio decrease with increasing V_Al concentration. Moreover V_Al induced local distortions have significant influence on the electronic and optical properties of Ta₄AlC₃, especially beyond the critical V_Al concentration (x=0.5). On the other hand, the presence of V_Al can improve the dielectric properties of Ta₄AlC₃. From the optical properties analysis, we predicted that Ta₄Al_1−xC₃ is not suitable as a coating material to avoid solar heating.     

Electronic structure, optical and thermodynamic properties of orthorhombic UCoGe under pressure

The electronic structures, optical and thermodynamic properties of orthorhombic UCoGe are investigated using the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) formalism in the framework of the density functional theory (DFT). The obtained lattice parameters, bulk modulus B and its pressure derivative B′ of UCoGe are in agreement with the available experimental data. From the analysis of band structure and density of states coming out from our calculations, we can see that UCoGe in the ground state belongs to a typical metallic alloy. Various optical properties, including the dielectric function and absorption coefficient as functions of the photon energy are calculated. The thermodynamic properties of UCoGe are predicted using the quasi-harmonic Debye model for the first time. The Debye temperature, the Grüneisen parameter, the heat capacity and the thermal expansion coefficient are obtained at high pressures and temperatures.     

Ab-initio calculations of electronic structure and optical properties of TiAl alloy

The electronic structures and optical properties of TiAl intermetallic alloy system are studied by the first-principle orthogonalized linear combination of atomic orbitals method. Results on the band structure, total and partial density of states, localization index, effective atomic charges, and optical conductivity are presented and discussed in detail. Total density of states spectra reveal that (near the Fermi level) the majority of the contribution is from Ti-3d states. The effective charge calculations show an average charge transfer of 0.52 electrons from Ti to Al in primitive cell calculations of TiAl alloy. On the other hand, calculations using supercell approach reveal an average charge transfer of 0.48 electrons from Ti to Al. The localization index calculations, of primitive cell as well as of supercell, show the presence of relatively localized states even above the Fermi level for this alloy. The calculated optical conductivity spectra of TiAl alloy are rich in structures, showing the highest peak at 5.73 eV for supercell calculations. Calculations of the imaginary part of the linear dielectric function show a prominent peak at 5.71 eV and a plateau in the range 1.1-3.5 eV.     

Concentration-dependent electronic structure and optical absorption properties of B-doped anatase TiO2

The concentration-dependent electronic structures and optical properties of B-doped anatase TiO₂ have been calculated using the density functional theory. The calculated results indicate that the electronic structures of B-doped TiO₂ have changed compared with those of pure TiO₂, which is mainly due to the new midgap states induced by B doping. As to the optical properties, we calculate the imaginary part of dielectric function ε₂(ω) and optical absorption spectra of pure and B-doped TiO₂. Two transitions E₁ and E₂ emerged after B doping. The intensity of absorption is enhanced by B doping both in the UV and visible regions. According to the results of imaginary part of dielectric function ε₂(ω) and DOS, it can be concluded that the two optical transitions correspond to the transitions from the O 2p states in the top of valence band to the midgap states and from the midgap states to the Ti 3d states in the bottom of conduction band, respectively. These results have important implications for the further development of photocatalytic materials.     

Influence of tungsten doping concentration on the electronic and optical properties of anatase TiO2

The structural, electronic and optical properties of tungsten-doped TiO₂ have been investigated using density functional theory with plane wave basis sets and ultrasoft pseuodopotential. Substitutional W doping at Ti sites create W 5d states just below the conduction band minimum while interstitial W doping gives isolated W 5d states in the middle of forbidden region. Averaged bond lengths show that W doping at Ti sites produce minimum structural distortion as compared to the interstitial W-doped TiO₂. Substitutional W-doped TiO₂ has better visible light absorption compared to interstitial W-doped TiO₂ and has stable configuration which provide reasonable explanation for the experimental findings. Tungsten doping in TiO₂ with different doping concentrations is investigated as an enabling concept for enhancing the visible light absorption. Optical properties show that optimal W doping concentration would improve the visible light absorption. 2.08% W doping concentration gives strong visible and ultraviolet light absorption among all doped models found consistent with experiments.