Four ternary semiconductors with the chalcopyrite structure (BeCN2, BeSiN2, MgCN2, and MgSiN2) were studied using the first principles methods. The structural, electronic, optical and elastic properties were calculated. All these materials were found to be the indirect band gap semiconductors, with the calculated band gaps in the range from 3.46 eV to 3.88 eV. Comparison of the degree of covalency/ionicity of the chemical bonds in these compounds was performed. Anisotropy of the optical properties of these tetragonal crystals was demonstrated by calculating the real and imaginary parts of the dielectric function ε. Anisotropy of the elastic properties of these materials was analyzed by plotting the three-dimensional dependences of the Young moduli and their two-dimensional cross-sections. It was also shown (at least, qualitatively) that there exists a correlation between the optical and elastic anisotropy: the most optically anisotropic MgSiN2 is also most elastically anisotropic material in the considered group. High hardness (bulk moduli up to 300 GPa) together with large band gaps may lead to new potential applications of these compounds.
Influence of composition and external hydrostatic pressure on the structural, electronic, and optical properties of the CuGa1-xAlxS2 (x=0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1.0) chalcopyrite semiconductor was analyzed by means of the first-principles calculations. Dielectric functions and optical absorption spectra were calculated for all considered aluminum concentrations. The pressure coefficients of the calculated band gaps and position of the lowest in energy absorption peaks were extracted from the calculated results. One of the main results is that substitution of 25% of gallium by aluminum (thus forming…
The correct treatment of d electrons is of prime importance in order to predict the electronic properties of the prototype chalcopyrite semiconductors. The effect of d states is linked with the anion displacement parameter u, which in turn influences the bandgap of these systems. Semilocal exchange-correlation functionals which yield good structural properties of semiconductors and insulators often fail to predict reasonable u because of the underestimation of the bandgaps arising from the strong interplay between d electrons. In the present study, we show that the meta-generalized gradient ap…
If magnetic semiconductors are ever to find wide application in real spintronic devices, their magnetic and electronic properties will require tailoring in much the same way that band gaps are engineered in conventional semiconductors. Unfortunately, no systematic understanding yet exists of how, or even whether, properties such as Curie temperatures and band gaps are related in magnetic semiconductors. Here we explore theoretically these and other relationships within 64 members of a single materials class, the Mn-doped II-IV-V2 chalcopyrites, three of which are already known experimentally t…
The bulk photovoltaic effect generates intrinsic photocurrents in materials without inversion symmetry. Shift current is one of the bulk photovoltaic phenomena related to the Berry phase of the constituting electronic bands: photo-excited carriers coherently shift in real space due to the difference in the Berry connection between the valence and conduction bands. Ferroelectric semiconductors and Weyl semimetals are known to exhibit such nonlinear optical phenomena. Here we consider chalcopyrite semiconductor ZnSnP$_2$ which lacks inversion symmetry and calculate the shift current conductivity…
This manuscript presents a model and simulation of the copper chalcopyrite semiconductor CuGaSe2 in order to predict its magnetic properties. In the semiconductor material CuGaSe2 (CGS), the atom Cu is the only magnetic element with a magnetic moment value S = 1/2. We propose a Hamiltonian to calculate the energies corresponding to different configurations of the system. In a first step, we presented the magnetization behavior by using the Monte Carlo simulations (MCS). The magnetizations as a function of the temperature, the exchange coupling have been studied and discussed. We have also dedu…
We observe significant effects of structural distortion on electronic and optical properties of CdGa_2X_4 (X = S, Se, Te) defect chalcopyrite. The calculation is carried out within Density functional theory based tight binding linear muffin tin orbital (TB-LMTO) method. Structural parameters and band gap of CdGa_2X_4 agree well with the available experimental values within LDA limit. Change in band gap due to structural distortion is 3.63%, 4.0%, and 8.8% respectively. We observe significant change in optical properties also due to this effect. Effects on optical properties come mainly from op…
We have carried out ab-initio calculation and study of structural and electronic properties of AgAlM2 (M = S, Se, Te) chalcopyrite semiconductors using Density Functional Theory (DFT) based self consistent Tight binding Linear Muffin Tin orbital (TB-LMTO) method. Calculated equlibrium values of lattice constants, anion displacement parameter (u), tetragonal distortion (η = c/2a) and bond lengths have good agreement with experimental values. Our study suggests these semiconductors to be direct band gap semiconductors with band gaps 1.98 eV, 1.59 eV and 1.36 eV respectively. These are in good ag…
We present an analysis of the potential thermoelectric performance of p-type AgGaTe$_{2}$, which has already shown a $ZT$ of 0.8 with partial optimization, and observe that the same band structure features, such as a mixture of light and heavy bands and isotropic transport, that lead to this good performance are present in certain other ternary chalcopyrite structure semiconductors. We find that optimal performance of AgGaTe$_2$ will be found for hole concentrations between 4 $\times 10^{19}$ and 2 $\times 10^{20}$cm$^{-3}$ at 900 K, and 2 $\times 10^{19}$ and 10$^{20}$ cm$^{-3}$ at 700 K, and…
Accurate and efficient prediction of the band gaps and optical spectra of chalcopyrite semiconductors from a non-empirical range-separated dielectric-dependent hybrid: Comparison with many-body perturbation theory
We have studied the structural and electronic properties of defect chalcopyrite semiconductors AAl2Se4 (A = Ag, Cu, Cd, Zn) using Density Functional Theory (DFT) based first principle technique within Tight binding Linear Muffin Tin orbital (TB-LMTO) method. Our calculated structural parameters such as lattice constants, anion displacement parameter (u), tetragonal distortion (η = c/2a), bond lengths and bulk modulus are in good agreement with other work. Our band structure calculation suggests that these compounds are direct band gap semiconductors having band gaps 2.40, 2.50, 2.46 and 2.82 e…
Using first-principles electronic structure calculations we identify the anion vacancies in II-VI and chalcopyrite Cu-III-VI2 semiconductors as a class of intrinsic defects that can exhibit metastable behavior. Specifically, we predict persistent electron photoconductivity (n-type PPC) caused by the oxygen vacancy VO in n-ZnO, and persistent hole photoconductivity (p-type PPC) caused by the Se vacancy VSe in p-CuInSe2 and p-CuGaSe2. We find that VSe in the chalcopyrite materials is amphoteric having two "negative-U" like transitions, i.e. a double-donor transition e(2+/0) close to the valence …
The recent discovery of topological insulators with exotic metallic surface states has garnered great interest in the fields of condensed matter physics and materials science. A number of spectacular quantum phenomena have been predicted when the surface states are under the influence of magnetism and superconductivity, which could open up new opportunities for technological applications in spintronics and quantum computing. To achieve this goal, material realization of topological insulators with desired physical properties is of crucial importance. Based on first-principles calculations, her…
Detailed first principles calculations of the structural, electronic and optical properties of two representatives of the chalcopyrite group of compounds (LiInSe2 and LiInTe2) are reported in the present paper. Both materials are shown to be the direct band gap semiconductors. Analysis of the electronic properties showed that the degree of covalency increases if Se is substituted by Te. Calculations of the optical properties of both crystals allowed getting reliable approximation of the refractive index as a function of the wavelength. All calculated results were compared with the available ex…
Although new photovoltaic materials, such as organic perovskites, have attracted much attention recently,\cite{perov1,perov2,perov3} zinc-blende semiconductors still play an important role, owing to their high efficiency and stability in real environments. For example, Cu$_2$ZnSnSe$_4$ \cite{AM2013} (CZTS) and Cu(In,Ga)Se$_2$ \cite{JACS2008} (CIGS), which are both based on chalcopyrite CuGa$X_2$ ($X=$ S, Se), have been considered as potential candidates for photovoltaics. It has been reported recently that the efficiency of CIGS has gone beyond 20\%, which is close to that of polycrystalline s…
The availability of ab initio electronic calculations and the concomitant techniques for deriving the corresponding lattice dynamics have been profusely used for calculating thermodynamic and vibrational properties of semiconductors, as well as their dependence on isotopic masses. The latter have been compared with experimental data for elemental and binary semiconductors with different isotopic compositions. Here we present theoretical and experimental data for several vibronic and thermodynamic properties of CuGa2, a canonical ternary semiconductor of the chalcopyrite family. Among these pro…
The electronic structure, linear and nonlinear optical properties have been calculated for CuInX2 (X=S, Se, Te) chalcopyrite-structure single crystals using the state-of-the-art full potential linear augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method. We present results for band structure, density of states, and imaginary part of the frequency-dependent linear and nonlinear optical susceptibilities. We find that these crystals are semiconductors with direct band gaps. We have calculated the birefringence of these crystals. The birefringence is negative for CuInS2 and CuInSe2 while it is positive for CuInTe…
Thermoelectric Properties of Copper-based Chalcopyrite Semiconductors Cu$MX_2$ ($M$ = Al, Ga, and In; $X$ = S, Se, and Te) from First-Principles Calculations
$Ab-initio$ probabilities of phonon-assisted intervalley scattering of electrons in the conduction bands of ternary chalcopyrite compounds $ZnSiP_2$ and $ZnGeP_2$ between the central $Γ$ minima and the lowest lateral minima (valleys) at $T$ and $N$ points have been calculated using the density functional theory. The equilibrium parameters of crystal structures, spectra of electrons and phonons are calculated self-consistently and are in fairly good agreement with the experiment and available theoretical calculations. The electron-phonon coupling constants with short-wave (inter-valley) phonons…
Electronic and transport properties of CuGaTe$_2$, a hole-doped ternary copper based chalcopyrite type semiconductor, are studied using calculations within the Density Functional Theory and solving the Boltzmann transport equation within the constant relaxation time approximation. The electronic bandstructures are calculated by means of the full-potential linear augmented plane wave method, using the Tran-Blaha modified Becke-Johnson potential. The calculated band gap of 1.23 eV is in agreement with the experimental value of 1.2 eV. The carrier concentration- and temperature dependent thermoel…
Tail state formation in solar cell absorbers leads to a detrimental effect on solar cell performance. Nevertheless, the characterization of the band tailing in experimental semiconductor crystals is generally difficult. In this article, to determine the tail state generation in various solar cell materials, we have developed a quite general theoretical scheme in which the experimental Urbach energy is compared with the absorption edge energy derived from density functional theory (DFT) calculation. For this purpose, the absorption spectra of solar cell materials, including CdTe, CuInSe2 (CISe)…
We present a systematic assessment of the structural properties, the electronic density of states, the charge densities, and the phase stabilities of AgInSe$_2$ and AuInSe$_2$ using screened exchange hybrid density functional theory, and compare their properties to those of CuInSe$_2$. For AgInSe$_2$, hybrid density functional theory properly captures several experimentally measured properties, including the increase in the band gap and the change in the direction of the lattice distortion parameter $u$ in comparison to CuInSe$_2$. While the electronic properties of AuInSe$_2$ have not yet bee…
Band structure and optical properties of defect- Chalcopyrite type semiconductor ZnIn$_2$Te$_4$ have been studied by TB-LMTO first principle technique. The optical absorption calculation suggest that ZnIn$_2$Te$_4$ is a direct-gap semiconductor having a band gap of 1.40 eV., which confirms the experimentally measured value. The calculated complex dielectric-function $ε(E) = ε_1(E) + iε_2(E)$ reveal distinct structures at energies of the critical points in the Brillouin zone.
We report the structural and electronic properties of chalcopyrite semiconductors CuInSe2, CuIn2 Se4 and Cu0.5Li0.5InSe2. Our calculation is based on Density functional Theory within tight binding linear muffin-tin orbital (TB-LMTO) method. The calculated lattice constants, anion displacement (u), tetragonal distortion (η = c/2a) and bond lengths agree well with experimental values. Our result shows these compounds are direct band gap semiconductors. Our calculated band gaps, 0.79eV and 1.08 eV of CuInSe2 and Cu0.5Li0.5InSe2 respectively agree well with the experimental values within the limit…
The DFT calculations were performed of densities of states of semiconductor GaAs and magnetic semiconductor Ga0.9375Mn0.0625As. It is obtained that a part of Mn3d- states is hybridized with valence band at Fermi level. The exchange integrals of Anderson impurity model were calculated making use of atomic Hartree-Fock package and angular momentum coupling technique. Theoretical Tc of Ga0.9375Mn0.0625As obtained in the multiscale ab initio method is in reasonable agreement with experiment. The application of Hubbard parameters in DFT calculations using ultrasoft pseudopotentials is discussed.
The role of a simple surface defect, such as a step, for relaxing the stress applied to a semiconductor, has been investigated by means of large scale first principles calculations. Our results indicate that the step is the privileged site for initiating plasticity, with the formation and glide of 60$^\circ$ dislocations for both tensile and compressive deformations. We have also examined the effect of surface and step termination on the plastic mechanisms.
We show how to describe Coulomb renormalization effects and dielectric screening in semiconductors and semiconductor nanostructures within a first-principles density-matrix description. Those dynamic variables and approximation schemes which are required for a proper description of dielectric screening are identified. It is shown that within the random-phase approximation the direct Coulomb interactions become screened, with static screening being a good approximation, whereas the electron-hole exchange interactions remain unscreened. Differences and similarities of our results with those obta…
A procedure is presented that combines density functional theory computations of bulk semiconductor alloys with the semiconductor Bloch equations, in order to achieve an ab initio based prediction of the optical properties of semiconductor alloy heterostructures. The parameters of an eight-band kp-Hamiltonian are fitted to the effective band structure of an appropriate alloy. The envelope function approach is applied to model the quantum well using the kp-wave functions and eigenvalues as starting point for calculating the optical properties of the heterostructure. It is shown that Luttinger p…
We present theoretical studies for the third-order elastic constants $C_{ijk}$ in zinc-blende nitrides AlN, GaN, and InN. Our predictions for these compounds are based on detailed ab initio calculations of strain-energy and strain-stress relations in the framework of the density functional theory. To judge the computational accuracy, we compare the ab initio calculated results for $C_{ijk}$ with experimental data available for Si and GaAs. We also underline the relation of the third-order elastic constants to other quantities characterizing anharmonic behaviour of materials, such as pressure d…
To investigate the initial process of Joule heating in semiconductors microscopically and quantitatively, we developed a theoretical framework for the ab initio evaluation of the carrier energy relaxation in semiconductors under a high electric field using a combination of the two-temperature model and the Boltzmann equation. We employed the method for bulk silicon as a typical example. Consequently, we found a remarkable difference in the energy relaxation processes of the electron and hole carriers. The longitudinal acoustic and optical phonons at the zone boundary contribute to the energy r…
We discuss the binding energy E_b of impurities in semiconductors within density functional theory (DFT) and the GW approximation, focusing on donors in nanowires as an example. We show that DFT succeeds in the calculation of E_b from the Kohn-Sham (KS) hamiltonian of the ionized impurity, but fails in the calculation of E_b from the KS hamiltonian of the neutral impurity, as it misses most of the interaction of the bound electron with the surface polarization charges of the donor. We trace this deficiency back to the lack of screened exchange in the present functionals.
We study the lattice dynamics of group IV semiconductors using fully ab-initio extended Hubbard functional. The onsite and intersite Hubbard interactions are determined self-consistently with recently developed pseudohybrid functionals and included in force calculations. We analyze the Pulay forces by the choice of atomic orbital projectors and the force contribution of the onsite and intersite Hubbard terms. The phonon dispersions, Gruneisen parameters, and lattice thermal conductivities of diamond, silicon, and germanium, which are most-representative covalent-bonding semiconductors, are ca…
Correlated ab-initio ground-state calculations, using relativistic energy-consistent pseudopotentials, are performed for six II-VI semiconductors. Valence ($ns,np$) correlations are evaluated using the coupled cluster approach with single and double excitations. An incremental scheme is applied based on correlation contributions of localized bond orbitals and of pairs and triples of such bonds. In view of the high polarity of the bonds in II-VI compounds, we examine both, ionic and covalent embedding schemes for the calculation of individual bond increments. Also, a partitioning of the correla…
A LMTO implementation of Aversa and Sipe's length-gauge formalism for calculating the full frequency dependent second-harmonic generation in the independent particle approximation is presented. It is applied to GaAs, GaP, 3C-SiC, c-BN and wurtzite and zincblende GaN and AlN. The use of the scissor's operator for correcting LDA errors is discussed and compared to an alternative approach in which the Hamiltonian is corrected. The latter is found to be superior. Decomposition in omega and 2 omega resonances and in intra- and inter-band contributions and in specific band-to-band contributions are …
We present an ab-initio real-time-based computational approach to study nonlinear optical properties in condensed matter systems that is especially suitable for crystalline solids and periodic nanostructures. The equations of motion and the coupling of the electrons with the external electric field are derived from the Berry-phase formulation of the dynamical polarization [Souza et al., Phys. Rev. B 69, 085106 (2004)]. Many-body effects are introduced by adding single-particle operators to the independent-particle Hamiltonian. We add a Hartree operator to account for crystal local effects and …
We compute from first principles the infrared dispersion of the nonlinear susceptibility $χ^{(2)}$ in zincblende semiconductors. At terahertz frequencies the nonlinear susceptibility depends not only on the purely electronic response $χ^{(2)}_{\infty}$, but also on three other parameters $C_1$, $C_2$ and $C_3$ describing the contributions from ionic motion. They relate to the TO Raman polarizability, the second-order displacement-induced dielectric polarization, and the third-order lattice potential. Contrary to previous theory, we find that mechanical anharmonicity ($C_3$) dominates over elec…
Semiconductor surfaces were divided into charge categories, i.e. surface acceptor, donor and neutral ones that are suitable for simulations of their properties within a slab model. The potential profiles, close to the charged surface states, accounting for explicit dependence of the point defects energy, were obtained. A termination charge slab model was formulated and analyzed proving that two control parameters of slab simulations exist: the slope and curvature of electric potential profiles which can be translated into a surface and volumetric charge density. The procedures of slab model pa…
The carrier dynamics in bulk Silicon, a paradigmatic indirect gap semiconductor, is studied by using the Baym-Kadanoff equations. Both the electron--electron(e-e) and electron--phonon(e-p) self--energies are calculated fully ab-initio by using a semi-static GW approximation in the e-e case and a Fan self-energy in the e-p case. By using the generalized Baym-Kadanoff ansatz the two-time evolution is replaced by the only dynamics on the macroscopic time axis. The enormous numerical difficulties connected with a real-time simulation of realistic systems is overcame by using a completed collision …
Wide band gap semiconductors are essential for today's electronic devices and energy applications due to their high optical transparency, as well as controllable carrier concentration and electrical conductivity. There are many categories of materials that can be defined as wide band gap semiconductors. The most intensively investigated are transparent conductive oxides (TCOs) such as ITO and IGZO used in displays, carbides and nitrides used in power electronics, as well as emerging halides (e.g. CuI) and 2D electronic materials used in various optoelectronic devices. Chalcogen-based (S, Se, T…
We develop a phase-space ab-initio formalism to compute Ballistic Electron Emission Spectroscopy current-voltage I(V)'s in a metal-semiconductor interface. We consider injection of electrons into the conduction band for direct bias ($V>0$) and injection of holes into the valence band or injection of secondary Auger electrons into the conduction band for reverse bias ($V<0$). Here, an ab-initio description of the semiconductor inversion layer (spanning hundreds of Angstroms) is needed. Such formalism is helpful to get parameter-free best-fit values for the Schottky barrier, a key technological …
The (Cd, Be)Te semiconductor alloy that exhibits a dramatic mismatch in bond covalency and stiffness clarifying its vibrational and mechanical properties is used as a benchmark to test the limits of the percolation model (PM) worked out to explain the complex Raman spectra of the related but less contrasted (Zn, Be) chalcogenides. The test is done by way of experiment (x smaller than 0.11) combining Raman scattering with X ray diffraction at high pressure and ab initio calculations (x around 0, 0.5 and 1). The (macroscopic) bulk modulus B drops below the CdTe value on minor Be incorporation, a…
The electronic structure of diluted (Ga,Mn)As magnetic semiconductors in the presence of As-antisites and magnetic disorder is studied within the framework of the local spin density approximation. Both the chemical and magnetic disorders are treated using the coherent potential approximation. A ground state with partial disorder in the local moments and with a reduced total magnetic moment appears in the presence of As-antisites. We first estimate the Curie temperature T_c from total energy differences between the ferromagnetic and the paramagnetic state by identifying these with the correspon…
Chemical adsorption of the species at semiconductor surfaces is analyzed showing the existence of the two contributions to adsorption energy: bond creation and charge transfer. It is shown that the energy of quantum surface states is affected by the electric field at the surface, nevertheless the potential contribution of electron and nuclei cancels out. The charge transfer contribution is Fermi level independent for pinned surfaces. Thus for Fermi level pinned at the surface, the adsorption energy is independent on the Fermi energy i.e. the doping in the bulk. The DFT simulations of adsorptio…
A first-principles calculation of the impurity screening in Si and Ge nanocrystals is presented. We show that isocoric screening gives results in agreement with both the linear response and the point-charge approximations. Based on the present ab initio results, and by comparison with previous calculations, we propose a physical real-space interpretation of the several contributions to the screening. Combining the Thomas-Fermi theory and simple electrostatics, we show that it is possible to construct a model screening function that has the merit of being of simple physical interpretation. The …
Relativistic band theoretical calculations reveal that intrinsic spin Hall conductivity in hole-doped archetypical semiconductors Ge, GaAs and AlAs is large $[\sim 100 (\hbar/e)(Ωcm)^{-1}]$, showing the possibility of spin Hall effect beyond the four band Luttinger Hamiltonian. The calculated orbital-angular-momentum (orbital) Hall conductivity is one order of magnitude smaller, indicating no cancellation between the spin and orbital Hall effects in bulk semiconductors. Furthermore, it is found that the spin Hall effect can be strongly manipulated by strains, and that the $ac$ spin Hall conduc…
We report on the complex dielectric tensor components of four chalcopyrite semiconductors in the optical energy range (1.4-5.2 eV, from 0.9 eV for CuInSe2) determined at room temperature by spectroscopic ellipsometry. Our results were obtained on single crystals of CuInSe2, CuGaSe2, CuInS2, and CuGaS2. Values of refractive indices n, extinction coefficients k and normal-incidence reflectivity R in the two different polarizations are given and compared with earlier data where available. We analyze in detail the structures of the dielectric function observed in the studied energy region. Critica…
Nonradiative carrier recombination at semiconductor deep centers is of great importance to both fundamental physics and device engineering. In this letter, we provide a revised analysis of K. Huang's original nonradiative multi-phonon (NMP) theory with ab initio calculations. First, we identify at first-principle level that Huang's concise formula gives the same results as the matrix based formula, and Huang's high temperature formula provides an analytical expression for the coupling constant in Marcus theory. Secondly, the anharmonic effects are corrected by taking into account local phonon …
In order to realize the significant potential of optical materials such as metal halides, computational techniques which give accurate optical properties are needed, which can work hand-in-hand with experiments to generate high efficiency devices. In this work a computationally efficient technique based on semiconductor Bloch equations (SBEs) is developed and applied to the material BiSBr. This approach gives excellent agreement with the experimental optical gap, and also agrees closely with the excitonic stabilisation energy and the absorption spectrum computed using the far more computationa…
In order to perform automated calculations of defect and dopant properties in semiconductors and insulators, we developed a software package, Defect and Dopant ab-initio Simulation Package (DASP), which is composed of four modules for calculating: (i) elemental chemical potentials, (ii) defect (dopant) formation energies and transition energy levels, (iii) defect and carrier densities and (iv) carrier dynamics properties of high-density defects. DASP uses the materials genome database for quick determination of competing secondary phases and calculation of the energy above convex hull when cal…
In the past five years enormous progress has been made in the ab initio calculations of the optical response of electrons in semiconductors. The calculations include the Coulomb interaction between the excited electron and the hole left behind, as well as local field effects. However, they are performed under the assumption that the atoms occupy fixed equilibrium positions and do not include effects of the interaction of the lattice vibrations with the electronic states (electron-phonon interaction). This interaction shifts and broadens the energies at which structure in the optical spectra is…
A full band-structure ab initio calculation of the degree of spin polarization (DSP) in stressed bulk Si and bulk GaAs is reported. For Si, we found that compressive stress causes the DSP signal peak to decrease slightly in magnitude and to shift to higher energies.
While being of persistent interest for the integration of lattice-matched laser devices with silicon circuits, the electronic structure of dilute nitride III/V-semiconductors has presented a challenge to ab initio computational approaches. The root of this lies in the strong distortion N atoms exert on most host materials. Here, we resolve these issues by combining density functional theory calculations based on the meta-GGA functional presented by Tran and Blaha (TB09) with a supercell approach for the dilute nitride Ga(NAs). Exploring the requirements posed to supercells, we show that the di…
Transport properties of Cu-based chalcopyrite materials are presented using the full potential linear augmented plane wave method and Boltzmann Semi-classical theory. All the studied compounds appear to be direct band gap semiconductors evaluated based on the Tran-Blaha modified Becke-Johnson potential. The heavy and light band combination found near the valence band maximum (VBM) drive these materials to possess good thermoelectric properties. Among the studied compounds, CuAlTe$_2$ is found to be more promising, in comparison with CuGaTe$_2$, which is reported to be an efficient thermoelectr…
We present a detailed density functional theory based calculations of the structural, elastic, lattice dynamical, thermophysical, and optoelectronic properties of ternary semiconductors CaZn$_2$X$_2$ (X = N, P, As) in this paper. The obtained lattice parameters are in excellent agreement with the experimental values and other theoretical findings. These elastic constants satisfy the mechanical stability criteria. Moreover, many thermophysical parameters of these compounds are estimated, including the Debye temperature, average sound velocity, melting temperature, heat capacity, lattice thermal…
In this paper we investigate the effect of Cd doping at ultra-low concentrations in SnO$_2$ both experimentally, by measuring the temperature dependence of the electric quadrupole hyperfine interactions with time-differential perturbed angular correlation (TDPAC) spectroscopy using $^{111}$Cd as probe nuclei, and theoretically, by performing first-principles calculations based on the density functional theory. TDPAC spectra were successfully analyzed with a time-dependent on-off model for the perturbation factor. These results show combined dynamic plus static interactions whose electric-field…
