Peculiar optical properties of bilayer silicene under the influence of external electric and magnetic fields

Feature-Rich Electronic Properties of Sliding Bilayer Germanene

This study employs first-principles calculations to elucidate the properties of sliding bilayer germanene (BLGe). The buckled structure of germanene can afford a greater number of metastable stacking configurations than planar graphene and enrich the electronic properties. Herein, a detailed analysis of the structural variety, shift-dependent energy bands, and spatial charge densities of BLGe is presented. The projected density of states (PDOS) reveals diverse structures such as plateaus, dips, symmetric/asymmetric peaks, and shoulders. The low-lying ones of the prominent structures could correspond to single or multiorbital hybridization, depending on the stacking configuration.

Electronic, optical, and thermoelectric properties of Janus In-based monochalcogenides

Inspired by the successfully experimental synthesis of Janus structures recently, we systematically study the electronic, optical, and electronic transport properties of Janus monolayers In₂XY(X/Y= S, Se, Te withX≠Y) in the presence of a biaxial strain and electric field using density functional theory. Monolayers In₂XYare dynamically and thermally stable at room temperature. At equilibrium, both In₂STe and In₂SeTe are direct semiconductors while In₂SSe exhibits an indirect semiconducting behavior. The strain significantly alters the electronic structure of In₂XYand their photocatalytic activity. Besides, the indirect-direct gap transitions can be found due to applied strain. The effect of the electric field on optical properties of In₂XYis negligible. Meanwhile, the optical absorbance intensity of the Janus In₂XYmonolayers is remarkably increased by compressive strain. Also, In₂XYmonolayers exhibit very low lattice thermal conductivities resulting in a high figure of meritZT, which makes them potential candidates for room-temperature thermoelectric materials.

Atomistic Band-Structure Computation for Investigating Coulomb Dephasing and Impurity Scattering Rates of Electrons in Graphene

In this paper, by introducing a generalized quantum-kinetic model which is coupled self-consistently with Maxwell and Boltzmann transport equations, we elucidate the significance of using input from first-principles band-structure computations for an accurate description of ultra-fast dephasing and scattering dynamics of electrons in graphene. In particular, we start with the tight-binding model (TBM) for calculating band structures of solid covalent crystals based on localized Wannier orbital functions, where the employed hopping integrals in TBM have been parameterized for various covalent bonds. After that, the general TBM formalism has been applied to graphene to obtain both band structures and wave functions of electrons beyond the regime of effective low-energy theory. As a specific example, these calculated eigenvalues and eigen vectors have been further utilized to compute the Bloch-function form factors and intrinsic Coulomb diagonal-dephasing rates for induced optical coherence of electron-hole pairs in spectral and polarization functions, as well as the energy-relaxation time from extrinsic impurity scattering of electrons for non-equilibrium occupation in band transport.

Multi-orbital tight binding model for the electronic and optical properties of armchair graphene nanoribbons in the presence of a periodic potential

The influences of an external electric field with uniform or modulated potential on the electronic and optical properties of armchair graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) are explored using the multi-orbital tight-binding Hamiltonian. The interplay between an electric field and interaction between (s,p_x,p_y,p_z) orbitals remarkably enriches the main features of band structures and absorption spectra. The applied electric field can notably alter the energy dispersions ofπandσbands, leading to the deformation of band-edge states, open and close of a band gap, and modification of the Fermi energy. The vertical optical excitations happen among theπbands, while their available channels depend on the Fermi level which is controlled by theσ-edge bands and a finite potential. With the rich and unique properties, GNRs are suitable candidates for applications in the fields of photodetectors, nanoelectronics, and spintronics. The calculated results are expected to be examined by the angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopies and optical spectroscopies.

Stacking-configuration-enriched essential properties of bilayer graphenes and silicenes

First-principles calculations show that the geometric and electronic properties of silicene-related systems have diversified phenomena. Critical factors of group-IV monoelements, like buckled/planar structures, stacking configurations, layer numbers, and van der Waals interactions of bilayer composites, are considered simultaneously. The theoretical framework developed provides a concise physical and chemical picture. Delicate evaluations and analyses have been made on the optimal lattices, energy bands, and orbital-projected van Hove singularities. They provide decisive mechanisms, such as buckled/planar honeycomb lattices, multi-/single-orbital hybridizations, and significant/negligible spin-orbital couplings. We investigate the stacking-configuration-induced dramatic transformations of essential properties by relative shift in bilayer graphenes and silicenes. The lattice constant, interlayer distance, buckling height, and total energy essentially depend on the magnitude and direction of the relative shift: AA → AB → AA' → AA. Apparently, sliding bilayer systems are quite different between silicene and graphene in terms of geometric structures, electronic properties, orbital hybridizations, interlayer hopping integrals, and spin interactions.

First-principles studies of electronic properties in lithium metasilicate (Li2SiO3)

Lithium metasilicate (Li2SiO3), which could serve as the electrolyte material in Li+-based batteries, exhibits unique lattice symmetry (an orthorhombic crystal), valence and conduction bands, charge density distribution, and van Hove singularities. Delicate analyses, based on reliable first-principles calculations, are utilized to identify the critical multi-orbital hybridizations in Li-O and Si-O bonds, 2s-(2s, 2p x , 2p y , 2p z ) and (3s, 3p x , 3p y , 3p z )-(2s, 2p x , 2p y , 2p z ), respectively. This system shows a huge indirect gap of 5.077 eV. Therefore, there exist many strong covalent bonds, with obvious anisotropy and non-uniformity. On the other hand, the spin-dependent magnetic configurations are thoroughly absent. The theoretical framework could be generalized to explore the essential properties of cathode and anode materials of oxide compounds.

Rich Magnetic Quantization Phenomena in AA Bilayer Silicene

The rich magneto-electronic properties of AA-bottom-top (bt) bilayer silicene are investigated using a generalized tight-binding model. The electronic structure exhibits two pairs of oscillatory energy bands for which the lowest conduction and highest valence states of the low-lying pair are shifted away from the K point. The quantized Landau levels (LLs) are classified into various separated groups by the localization behaviors of their spatial distributions. The LLs in the vicinity of the Fermi energy do not present simple wave function modes. This behavior is quite different from other two-dimensional systems. The geometry symmetry, intralayer and interlayer atomic interactions, and the effect of a perpendicular magnetic field are responsible for the peculiar LL energy spectra in AA-bt bilayer silicene. This work provides a better understanding of the diverse magnetic quantization phenomena in 2D condensed-matter materials.