Excitons in boron nitride nanotubes: dimensionality effects

Effect of non-metal doping on the optoelectronic properties of ZrS2/ZrSe2 heterostructure under strain: a first-principles study

CONTEXT

In this paper, we systematically studied the effects of non-metallic element (B, C, N, O, F) doping and biaxial stretching on the photoelectric properties of ZrS2/ZrSe2 heterostructures by using the first-principles calculation method based on density functional theory. The results show that the p-type doping is realized by B, C, and N atom doping, and the n-type doping is realized by O and F atom doping. The doping of B and C atoms produces impurity energy levels in the band gap, which affects the conductivity of the heterostructure. The band gap of N and O atom-doped heterostructures increases under tensile strain, but it is still a direct band gap. The analysis of the optical properties of the heterostructures shows that the doping of non-metallic atoms can adjust the optical absorption rate and reflectivity of the heterostructures. Under the action of tensile strain, the optical properties of the doped heterostructures have changed significantly in the low-energy region. This article provides a theoretical basis for the future application of ZrS2/ZrSe2 heterostructures.

METHOD

This paper uses the first-principles calculation method based on density functional theory. The PBE exchange-correlation functional based on generalized gradient approximation (GGA) is selected for the specific calculation, and the crystal structure is geometrically optimized by the ultrasoft pseudopotential method. It is verified that when the cutoff energy of the ZrS2/ZrSe2 heterostructure is 500 eV, the K-point grid is selected to be 10 × 10 × 2 with the lowest energy, so the cutoff energy is selected to be 500 eV. The K-point grid is selected to be 10 × 10 × 2. The convergence limits for structural optimization are as follows: the maximum force between atoms is 0.01 eV/Å, the convergence threshold of the maximum energy change is set to 10-9 eV/atom, and the convergence threshold of the maximum displacement is 0.001 Å. In order to avoid the influence of atomic periodic motion between different atomic layers, a vacuum layer of 20 Å is added in the vertical direction. Considering the interaction of vdW between the interfaces, the DFT-D2 method is used to verify. The optical properties were calculated by the random phase approximation method, and the K-point grid was selected as 12 × 12 × 2.

Effects of an external electric field on the electronic properties and optical excitations of germanane and silicane monolayers

Using density functional theory in conjunction with many-body perturbation theory, we theoretically investigated the electronic structures of monolayers germanane and silicane in an applied out-of-plane uniform electric field. Our results show that although the band structures of both monolayers are affected by the electric field, the band gap width cannot be reduced to zero even for high field-strengths. Moreover, excitons are shown to be robust under electric fields, so that Stark shifts for the fundamental exciton peak is only of the order of a few meV for fields of 1 V Å^-1. The electric field has also no significant effect on electron probability distribution, as the exciton dissociation into free electron-hole pairs is not observed even at high electric field strengths. Franz-Keldysh effect is also studied in monolayers germanane and silicane. We found that, due to the shielding effect, the external field is prevented to induce absorption in the spectral region below the gap and only above-gap oscillatory spectral features are allowed. One can benefit from such a characteristic where the absorption near the band edge is not altered by the presence of an electric field, especially since these materials have excitonic peaks in the visible range.

The electronic and optical properties of III–V binary 2D semiconductors: how to achieve high precision from accurate many-body methods

We tested the precision of accurate many-body GW and BSE methods on seven hexagonal 2D III–V binary semiconductors (BN, BP, BAs, AlN, GaN, GaP, and GaAs), and we provided benchmark electronic and optical properties.

A method to restore the intrinsic dielectric functions of 2D materials in periodic calculations

Previous calculations of the dielectric and optical properties of 2D materials often overlooked or circumvented the influence of vacuum spacing introduced in periodic calculations, which gave rise to mispredictions of the intrinsic properties of 2D materials or merely qualitative results. We first elucidated the relationship between the vacuum spacing and the dielectric and optical properties of 2D materials in periodic calculations, and then formulated an effective method to accurately predict the dielectric and optical properties of 2D materials by restoring the intrinsic dielectric functions of 2D materials independent of the additional vacuum spacing. As examples, the intrinsic dielectric and optical properties of ultrathin hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) and molybdenum sulphide (MoS₂) from a monolayer to a pentalayer, including dielectric functions, optical absorption coefficients, refraction indexes, reflectivities, extinction coefficients, and energy loss functions, have been calculated by our method. Our calculations reveal that the out-of-plane optical dielectric constants, static refraction indexes, and static reflectivities of 2D h-BN and MoS₂ increase as the number of layers increases, while the in-plane counterparts remain unchanged. The excitonic frequency-dependent optical properties of h-BN and MoS₂ from a monolayer to bulk are also calculated by solving the Bethe-Salpeter equation and they show strong anisotropy. The present method shows better agreement with the experimental results compared to previous calculations and demonstrates enormous potential to investigate the dielectric and optical properties of other 2D materials extensively and quantitatively.

Vibrational and optical identification of GeO2 and GeO single layers: a first-principles study

In the present work, the identification of two hexagonal phases of germanium oxides (namely GeO₂ and GeO) through the vibrational and optical properties is reported using density functional theory calculations. While structural optimizations show that single-layer GeO₂ and GeO crystallize in 1T and buckled phases, phonon band dispersions reveal the dynamical stability of each structure. First-order off-resonant Raman spectral predictions demonstrate that each free-standing single-layer possesses characteristic peaks that are representative for the identification of the germanium oxide phase. On the other hand, electronic band dispersion analysis shows the insulating and large-gap semiconducting nature of single-layer GeO₂ and GeO, respectively. Moreover, optical absorption, reflectance, and transmittance spectra obtained by means of G₀W₀-BSE calculations reveal the existence of tightly bound excitons in each phase, displaying strong optical absorption. Furthermore, the excitonic gaps are found to be at deep UV and visible portions of the spectrum, for GeO₂ and GeO crystals, with energies of 6.24 and 3.10 eV, respectively. In addition, at the prominent excitonic resonances, single-layers display high reflectivity with a zero transmittance, which is another indication of the strong light-matter interaction inside the crystal medium.

Bandgap of two-dimensional materials: Thorough assessment of modern exchange-correlation functionals

The density-functional theory (DFT) approximations that are the most accurate for the calculation of bandgap of bulk materials are hybrid functionals, such as HSE06, the modified Becke-Johnson (MBJ) potential, and the GLLB-SC potential. More recently, generalized gradient approximations (GGAs), such as HLE16, or meta-GGAs, such as (m)TASK, have also proven to be quite accurate for the bandgap. Here, the focus is on two-dimensional (2D) materials and the goal is to provide a broad overview of the performance of DFT functionals by considering a large test set of 298 2D systems. The present work is an extension of our recent studies [T. Rauch, M. A. L. Marques, and S. Botti, Phys. Rev. B 101, 245163 (2020); Patra et al., J. Phys. Chem. C 125, 11206 (2021)]. Due to the lack of experimental results for the bandgap of 2D systems, G₀W₀ results were taken as reference. It is shown that the GLLB-SC potential and mTASK functional provide the bandgaps that are the closest to G₀W₀. Following closely, the local MBJ potential has a pretty good accuracy that is similar to the accuracy of the more expensive hybrid functional HSE06.

Tuning the Direct and Indirect Excitonic Transitions of h-BN by Hydrostatic Pressure

The pressure dependence of the direct and indirect bandgap transitions of hexagonal boron nitride is investigated using optical reflectance under hydrostatic pressure in an anvil cell with sapphire windows up to 2.5 GPa. Features in the reflectance spectra associated with the absorption at the direct and indirect bandgap transitions are found to downshift with increasing pressure, with pressure coefficients of -26 ± 2 and -36 ± 2 meV GPa^-1, respectively. The GW calculations yield a faster decrease of the direct bandgap with pressure compared to the indirect bandgap. Including the strong excitonic effects through the Bethe-Salpeter equation, the direct excitonic transition is found to have a much lower pressure coefficient than the indirect excitonic transition. This suggests a strong variation of the binding energy of the direct exciton with pressure. The experiments corroborate the theoretical predictions and indicate an enhancement of the indirect nature of the bulk hexagonal boron nitride crystal under hydrostatic pressure.

Exact Analytical Solution of the Ground-State Hydrogenic Problem with Soft Coulomb Potential

We provide the exact analytical solution of the ground-state hydrogenic problem with soft Coulomb potential in 1-, 2- and 3-D. We show that the wave function is an analytical function of the inverse of the soft Coulomb potential and identify a power term, an exponentially decaying term and a mildly varying modulator function on the exponential. In approaching the bare Coulomb limit, only the exponentially decaying term survives in 2D and 3D and converges to the well-known result. This is in contrast with the 1D case, where the wave function shrinks to a delta function with a total energy of minus infinity. The asymptotic behavior of the energy in such limit has been analyzed. Moreover, by analyzing the solution in different dimensions, we find that the total energy increases with dimension and scales linearly rather than quadratically with the nuclear charge Z in the large Z limit.

Efficient Band Structure Calculation of Two-Dimensional Materials from Semilocal Density Functionals

The experimental and theoretical realization of two-dimensional (2D) materials is of utmost importance in semiconducting applications. Computational modeling of these systems with satisfactory accuracy and computational efficiency is only feasible with semilocal density functional theory methods. In the search for the most useful method in predicting the band gap of 2D materials, we assess the accuracy of recently developed semilocal exchange-correlation (XC) energy functionals and potentials. Though the explicit forms of exchange-correlation (XC) potentials are very effective against XC energy functionals for the band gap of bulk solids, their performance needs to be investigated for 2D materials. In particular, the LMBJ [J. Chem. Theory Comput.2020, 16, 2654] and GLLB-SC [Phys. Rev. B82, 2010, 115106] potentials are considered for their dominance in bulk band gap calculation. The performance of recently developed meta generalized gradient approximations, like TASK [Phys. Rev. Res.1, 2019, 033082] and MGGAC [Phys. Rev. B. 100, 2019, 155140], is also assessed. We find that the LMBJ potential constructed for 2D materials is not as successful as its parent functional, i.e., MBJ [Phys. Rev. Lett.102, 2009, 226401] in bulk solids. Due to a contribution from the derivative discontinuity, the band gaps obtained with GLLB-SC are in a certain number of cases, albeit not systematically, larger than those obtained with other methods, which leads to better agreement with the quasi-particle band gap obtained from the GW method. The band gaps obtained with TASK and MGGAC can also be quite accurate.

Enhanced tunable second harmonic generation from twistable interfaces and vertical superlattices in boron nitride homostructures

Broken symmetries induce strong even-order nonlinear optical responses in materials and at interfaces. Unlike conventional covalently bonded nonlinear crystals, van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures feature layers that can be stacked at arbitrary angles, giving complete control over the presence or lack of inversion symmetry at a crystal interface. Here, we report highly tunable second harmonic generation (SHG) from nanomechanically rotatable stacks of bulk hexagonal boron nitride (BN) crystals and introduce the term twistoptics to describe studies of optical properties in twistable vdW systems. By suppressing residual bulk effects, we observe SHG intensity modulated by a factor of more than 50, and polarization patterns determined by moiré interface symmetry. Last, we demonstrate greatly enhanced conversion efficiency in vdW vertical superlattice structures with multiple symmetry-broken interfaces. Our study paves the way for compact twistoptics architectures aimed at efficient tunable frequency conversion and demonstrates SHG as a robust probe of buried vdW interfaces.

Optical spectra of 2D monolayers from time-dependent density functional theory

The optical spectra of two-dimensional (2D) periodic systems provide a challenge for time-dependent density-functional theory (TDDFT) because of the large excitonic effects in these materials. In this work we explore how accurately these spectra can be described within a pure Kohn-Sham time-dependent density-functional framework, i.e., a framework in which no theory beyond Kohn-Sham density-functional theory, such as GW, is required to correct the Kohn-Sham gap. To achieve this goal we adapted a recent approach we developed for the optical spectra of 3D systems [S. Cavo, J. A. Berger and P. Romaniello, Phys. Rev. B, 2020, 101, 115109] to those of 2D systems. Our approach relies on the link between the exchange-correlation kernel of TDDFT and the derivative discontinuity of ground-state density-functional theory, which guarantees a correct quasi-particle gap, and on a generalization of the polarization functional [J. A. Berger, Phys. Rev. Lett., 2015, 115, 137402], which describes the excitonic effects. We applied our approach to two prototypical 2D monolayers, h-BN and MoS2. We find that our protocol gives a qualitatively good description of the optical spectrum of h-BN, whereas improvements are needed for MoS2 to describe the intensity of the excitonic peaks.

Efficient calculation of excitonic effects in solids including approximated quasiparticle energies

In this work we present a new procedure to compute optical spectra including excitonic effects and approximated quasiparticle corrections with reduced computational effort. The excitonic effects on optical spectra are included by solving the Bethe-Salpeter equation, considering quasiparticle eigenenergies and respective wavefunctions obtained within DFT-1/2 method. The electron-hole ladder diagrams are approximated by the screened exchange. To prove the capability of the procedure, we compare the calculated imaginary part of the dielectric functions of Si, Ge, GaAs, GaP, GaSb, InAs, InP, and InSb with experimental data. The energy position of the absorption peaks are correctly described. The good agreement with experimental results together with the very significant reduction of computational effort makes the procedure suitable on the investigation of optical spectra of more complex systems.

Giant excitonic absorption and emission in two-dimensional group-III nitrides

Absorption and emission of pristine-like semiconducting monolayers of BN, AlN, GaN, and InN are systematically studied by ab-initio methods. We calculate the absorption spectra for in-plane and out-of-plane light polarization including quasiparticle and excitonic effects. Chemical trends with the cation of the absorption edge and the exciton binding are discussed in terms of the band structures. Exciton binding energies and localization radii are explained within the Rytova-Keldysh model for excitons in two dimensions. The strong excitonic effects are due to the interplay of low dimensionality, confinement effects, and reduced screening. We find exciton radiative lifetimes ranging from tenths of picoseconds (BN) to tenths of nanoseconds (InN) at room temperature, thus making 2D nitrides, especially InN, promising materials for light-emitting diodes and high-performance solar cells.

Large excitonic effect on van der Waals interaction between two-dimensional semiconductors

An exceptionally large excitonic effect on the van der Waals (vdW) interaction between two-dimensional semiconductors is unraveled using the Lifshitz theory in conjunction with the ab initio GW plus Bethe-Salpeter equation formalism. Upon consideration of the electron-hole interaction, the vdW energy between two atomistic layers separated by 10 000 angstroms can be larger by a ratio of ∼30%, which is an order of magnitude greater than that seen for semi-infinite silicon surfaces. The large influence of the short-range electron-hole interaction on the long-range effect of quantum fluctuations is rooted in the ultra-thin nature of two-dimensional semiconductors which results in not only large exciton binding energy but also amplified roles of low-frequency dielectric responses.

Excitonic Effect Drives Ultrafast Dynamics in van der Waals Heterostructures

Recent experiments revealed stacking-configuration-independent and ultrafast charge transfer in transition metal dichalcogenides van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures, which is surprising given strong exciton binding energies and large momentum mismatch across the heterojunctions. Previous theories failed to provide a comprehensive physical picture for the charge transfer mechanisms. To address this challenge, we developed a first-principles framework which can capture exciton-phonon interaction in extended systems. We find that excitonic effect does not impede, but actually drives ultrafast charge transfer in vdW heterostructures. The many-body electron-hole interaction affords cooperation among the electrons, which relaxes the constraint on momentum conservation and reduces energy gaps for charge transfer. We uncover a two-step process in exciton dynamics: ultrafast hole transfer followed by much longer relaxation of intermediate "hot" excitons. This work establishes that many-body excitonic effect is crucial to the ultrafast dynamics and provides a basis to understand relevant phenomena in vdW heterostructures.

Light-matter interaction in van der Waals hetero-structures

Even if individual two-dimensional materials own various interesting and unexpected properties, the stacking of such layers leads to van der Waals solids which unite the characteristics of two dimensions with novel features originating from the interlayer interactions. In this topical review, we cover fabrication and characterization of van der Waals hetero-structures with a focus on hetero-bilayers made of monolayers of semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides. Experimental and theoretical techniques to investigate those hetero-bilayers are introduced. Most recent findings focusing on different transition metal dichalcogenides hetero-structures are presented and possible optical transitions between different valleys, appearance of moiré patterns and signatures of moiré excitons are discussed. The fascinating and fast growing research on van der Waals hetero-bilayers provide promising insights required for their application as emerging quantum-nano materials.

Excitons in two-dimensional atomic layer materials from time-dependent density functional theory: mono-layer and bi-layer hexagonal boron nitride and transition-metal dichalcogenides

Time-dependent density functional theory has been applied to the calculation of absorption spectra for two dimensional atomic layer materials: mono-layer and bi-layer hexagonal boron nitride and mono-layer transition metal dichalcogenides.

Younis W, Saroka VA, Teleb NH, Yunoki S, Zhang Q. Interaction of hydrated metals with chemically modified hexagonal boron nitride quantum dots: wastewater treatment and water splitting

The electronic and adsorption properties of chemically modified square hexagonal boron nitride quantum dots are investigated using density functional theory calculations.

Momentum-Resolved Dielectric Response of Free-Standing Mono-, Bi-, and Trilayer Black Phosphorus

Black phosphorus (BP), a 2D semiconducting material of interest in electronics and photonics, exhibits physical properties characterized by strong anisotropy and band gap energy that scales with reducing layer number. However, the investigation of its intrinsic properties is challenging because thin-layer BP is photo-oxidized under ambient conditions and the energy of its electronic states shifts in different dielectric environments. We prepared free-standing samples of few-layer BP under glovebox conditions and probed the dielectric response in a vacuum using scanning transmission electron microscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy (STEM-EELS). Thresholds of the excitation energy are measured at 1.9, 1.4, and 1.1 eV for the mono-, bi-, and trilayer BP, respectively, and these values are used to estimate the corresponding optical band gaps. A comparison of our results with electronic structure calculations indicates that the variation of the quasi-particle gap is larger than that of the exciton binding energy. The dispersion of the plasmons versus momentum for one- to three-layer BP and bulk BP highlights a deviation from parabolic to linear dispersion and strong anisotropic fingerprints.

Multiflat Bands and Strong Correlations in Twisted Bilayer Boron Nitride: Doping-Induced Correlated Insulator and Superconductor

Two-dimensional materials, obtained by van der Waals stacking of layers, are fascinating objects of contemporary condensed matter research, exhibiting a variety of new physics. Inspired by the breakthroughs of twisted bilayer graphene (TBG), we demonstrate that twisted bilayer boron nitride (TBBN) is an even more exciting novel system that turns out to be an excellent platform to realize new correlated phases and phenomena; exploration of its electronic properties shows that in contrast to TBG in TBBN multiple families of 2,4, and 6-fold degenerate flat bands emerge without the need to fine tune close to a "magic angle", resulting in dramatic and tunable changes in optical properties and exciton physics, and providing an additional platform to study strong correlations. Upon doping, unforeseen new correlated phases of matter (insulating and superconducting) emerge. TBBN could thus provide a promising experimental platform, insensitive to small deviations in the twist angle, to study novel exciton condensate and spatial confinement physics, and correlations in two dimensions.

Large-Scale Benchmark of Exchange-Correlation Functionals for the Determination of Electronic Band Gaps of Solids

We compile a large data set designed for the efficient benchmarking of exchange–correlation functionals for the calculation of electronic band gaps. The data set comprises information on the experimental structure and band gap of 472 nonmagnetic materials and includes a diverse group of covalent-, ionic-, and van der Waals-bonded solids. We used it to benchmark 12 functionals, ranging from standard local and semilocal functionals, passing through meta-generalized-gradient approximations, and several hybrids. We included both general purpose functionals, like the Perdew–Burke–Ernzerhof approximation, and functionals specifically crafted for the determination of band gaps. The comparison of experimental and theoretical band gaps shows that the modified Becke–Johnson is at the moment the best available density functional, closely followed by the Heyd–Scuseria–Ernzerhof screened hybrid from 2006 and the high-local-exchange generalized-gradient approximation.

Physical origin of giant excitonic and magneto-optical responses in two-dimensional ferromagnetic insulators

The recent discovery of magnetism in atomically thin layers of van der Waals crystals has created great opportunities for exploring light–matter interactions and magneto-optical phenomena in the two-dimensional limit. Optical and magneto-optical experiments have provided insights into these topics, revealing strong magnetic circular dichroism and giant Kerr signals in atomically thin ferromagnetic insulators. However, the nature of the giant magneto-optical responses and their microscopic mechanism remain unclear. Here, by performing first-principles GW and Bethe-Salpeter equation calculations, we show that excitonic effects dominate the optical and magneto-optical responses in the prototypical two-dimensional ferromagnetic insulator, CrI₃. We simulate the Kerr and Faraday effects in realistic experimental setups, and based on which we predict the sensitive frequency- and substrate-dependence of magneto-optical responses. These findings provide physical understanding of the phenomena as well as potential design principles for engineering magneto-optical and optoelectronic devices using two-dimensional magnets.

The magneto-optical (MO) effects probe the electronic and magnetic properties of a material, particularly useful for 2D magnets. Here, the authors show that the large optical and MO responses in ferromagnetic monolayer CrI₃ arise from strongly bound excitons, extending over several atoms.

An overview of the recent advances in inorganic nanotubes

Advanced nanomaterials play a prominent role in nanoscience and nanotechnology developments, opening new frontiers in these areas. Among these nanomaterials, due to their unique characteristics and enhanced chemical and physical properties, inorganic nanotubes have been considered one of the most interesting nanostructures. In recent years, important progress has been achieved in the production and study of these nanomaterials, including boron nitride, transition metal dichalcogenide nanotubular structures, misfit-based nanotubes and other hybrid/doped nanotubular objects. This review is devoted to the in-depth analysis of recent studies on the synthesis, atomic structures, properties and applications of inorganic nanotubes and related nanostructures. Particular attention is paid to the growth mechanism of these nanomaterials. This is a crucial point for the challenges ahead related to the mass production of high-quality defect-free nanotubes for a variety of applications.

Bright Luminescence from Indirect and Strongly Bound Excitons in h-BN

A quantitative analysis of the excitonic luminescence efficiency in hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is carried out by cathodoluminescence in the ultraviolet range and compared with zinc oxide and diamond single crystals. A high quantum yield value of ∼50% is found for h-BN at 10 K comparable to that of direct band-gap semiconductors. This bright luminescence at 215 nm remains stable up to room temperature, evidencing the strongly bound character of excitons in bulk h-BN. Ab initio calculations of the exciton dispersion confirm the indirect nature of the lowest-energy exciton whose binding energy is found equal to 300±50  meV, in agreement with the thermal stability observed in luminescence. The direct exciton is found at a higher energy but very close to the indirect one, which solves the long debated Stokes shift in bulk h-BN.

Superbound Excitons in 2D Phosphorene Oxides

The optical excitations in layered phosphorene oxides are studied via ab initio calculation together with GW approximation for the self-energy and solving the Bethe-Salpeter equation (BSE) for the excitations. It is found that the electronic structure of phosphorene oxides closely depends on the oxygen concentration. For the high oxygen coverage structure P₄O₁₀, it shows a strong localized molecular-like electronic structure with exciton binding ( E_b) energy up to 3.0 eV, which is several times larger than the ordinary E_b value in various low-dimensional materials. This study may provide an alternative way to design functional layered materials with large exciton binding energies by controlling the oxidation level in phosphorene oxides.

Ab Initio Simulation of Attosecond Transient Absorption Spectroscopy in Two-Dimensional Materials

We extend the first-principles analysis of attosecond transient absorption spectroscopy to two-dimensional materials. As an example of two-dimensional materials, we apply the analysis to monolayer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) and compute its transient optical properties under intense few-cycle infrared laser pulses. Nonadiabatic features are observed in the computed transient absorption spectra. To elucidate the microscopic origin of these features, we analyze the electronic structure of h-BN with density functional theory and investigate the dynamics of specific energy bands with a simple two-band model. Finally, we find that laser-induced intraband transitions play a significant role in the transient absorption even for the two-dimensional material and that the nonadiabatic features are induced by the dynamical Franz–Keldysh effect with an anomalous band dispersion.

Tuning Optoelectronic Properties of the Graphene-Based Quantum Dots C16- xSi xH10 Family

The electronic and optical properties of graphene-based quantum dots (QDs) are investigated using DFT and many-body perturbation theory. Formation energy, hardeness and electrophilicity show that all structures, from pyrene to silicene QD passing through 15 CSi QD configurations, are energetically and chemically stable. It is also found that they are reactive which implies their favorable character for the possible electronic transport and conductivity. The electronic and optical properties are very sensitive to the number and position of the substituted silicon atoms as well as the directions of the light polarization. Moreover, quantum confinement effects make the exciton binding energy of CSi quantum dots larger than those of their higher dimensional allotropes such as silicene, graphene, and SiC sheet and nanotube. It is also higher those of other shapes of quantum dots like hexagonal graphene QDs and can be tailored from the ultraviolet region to the visible one. The values of the singlet-triplet splitting determined for the X- and Y-light polarized indicate that all configurations have a high fluorescence quantum yield compared to the yield of typical semiconductors, which makes them very promising for various applications such as the light-emitting diode material and nanomedicine.

Stability, elastic and electronic properties of a novel BN2 sheet with extended hexagons with N-N bonds

A new B-N monolayer material (BN₂) consisting of a network of extended hexagons is predicted using density functional theory. The distinguishable nature of this 2D material is found to be the presence of the bonded N atoms (N-N) in the lattice. Analysis of the phonon dispersion curves show this phase of BN₂ to be stable. The calculated elastic properties exhibit anisotropic mechanical properties that surpass graphene in the armchair direction. The BN₂ monolayer is metallic with in-plane p states dominating the Fermi level. Novel applications resulting from a strong anisotropic mechanical strength together with the metallic properties of the BN₂ sheet with the extended hexagons with N-N bonds may enable future innovation at the nanoscale.

Resonant X-ray Emission of Hexagonal Boron Nitride

The electronic structure of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is explored using measurements of x-ray absorption and resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) at the nitrogen K edge (1s) in tandem with calculations using many-body perturbation theory within the GW and Bethe-Salpeter equation (BSE) approximations. Our calculations include the effects of lattice disorder from phonons activated thermally and from zero point energy. They highlight the influence of disorder on near-edge x-ray spectra.

Multi-walled boron nitride nanotubes as self-excited launchers

A self-excited launcher consisting of multi-walled boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) has been investigated using molecular dynamics simulation. The results show that, after a period of high frequency oscillation, the innermost BNNT can be spontaneously ejected along its central axis at a relatively fast speed. The launching is caused by the energy transfer between the nanotubes and without absorbing energy from the external environment. Most self-excited launchers could launch their innermost nanotube, although an inappropriate structure of the nanotubes contributes to a blocked or failed launch. In addition, a launch angle corrector and a nanotube receiver associated with a self-excited launcher are also manufactured to precisely control the launch angle and distance of the BNNTs. This study provides the possibility to fabricate and design self-excited launchers using multi-walled nanotubes.

Model dielectric function for 2D semiconductors including substrate screening

Dielectric screening of excitons in 2D semiconductors is known to be a highly non-local effect, which in reciprocal space translates to a strong dependence on momentum transfer q. We present an analytical model dielectric function, including the full non-linear q-dependency, which may be used as an alternative to more numerically taxing ab initio screening functions. By verifying the good agreement between excitonic optical properties calculated using our model dielectric function, and those derived from ab initio methods, we demonstrate the versatility of this approach. Our test systems include: Monolayer hBN, monolayer MoS₂, and the surface exciton of a 2 × 1 reconstructed Si(111) surface. Additionally, using our model, we easily take substrate screening effects into account. Hence, we include also a systematic study of the effects of substrate media on the excitonic optical properties of MoS₂ and hBN.

Effect of an external electric field on the electronic properties of SnS2/PbI2 van der Waals heterostructures

The future development of optoelectronic devices will require an advanced control technology in electronic properties, for example by an external electric field (E_field).

Structural Changes in 2D BiSe Bilayers as n Increases in (BiSe)1+δ(NbSe2)n (n = 1-4) Heterostructures

(BiSe)_1+δ(NbSe₂)_n heterostructures with n = 1-4 were synthesized using modulated elemental reactants. The BiSe bilayer structure changed from a rectangular basal plane with n = 1 to a square basal plane for n = 2-4. The BiSe in-plane structure was also influenced by small changes in the structure of the precursor, without significantly changing the out-of-plane diffraction pattern or value of the misfit parameter, δ. Density functional theory calculations on isolated BiSe bilayers showed that its lattice is very flexible, which may explain its readiness to adjust shape and size depending on the environment. Correlated with the changes in the BiSe basal plane structure, analysis of scanning transmission electron microscope images revealed that the occurrence of antiphase boundaries, found throughout the n = 1 compound, is dramatically reduced for the n = 2-4 compounds. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements showed that the Bi 5d_3/2, 5d_5/2 doublet peaks narrowed toward higher binding energies as n increased from 1 to 2, also consistent with a reduction in the number of antiphase boundaries. Temperature-dependent electrical resistivity and Hall coefficient measurements of nominally stoichiometric samples in conjunction with structural refinements and XPS data suggest a constant amount of interlayer charge transfer independent of n. Constant interlayer charge transfer is surprising given the changes in the BiSe in-plane structure. The structural flexibility of the BiSe layer may be useful in designing multiple constituent heterostructures as an interlayer between structurally dissimilar constituents.

Boron Nitride Nanostructures: Fabrication, Functionalization and Applications

Boron nitride (BN) structures are featured by their excellent thermal and chemical stability and unique electronic and optical properties. However, the lack of controlled synthesis of quality samples and the electrically insulating property largely prevent realizing the full potential of BN nanostructures. A comprehensive overview of the current status of the synthesis of two-dimensional hexagonal BN sheets, three dimensional porous hexagonal BN materials and BN-involved heterostructures is provided, highlighting the advantages of different synthetic methods. In addition, structural characterization, functionalizations and prospective applications of hexagonal BN sheets are intensively discussed. One-dimensional BN nanoribbons and nanotubes are then discussed in terms of structure, fabrication and functionality. In particular, the existing routes in pursuit of tunable electronic and magnetic properties in various BN structures are surveyed, calling upon synergetic experimental and theoretical efforts to address the challenges for pioneering the applications of BN into functional devices. Finally, the progress in BN superstructures and novel B/N nanostructures is also briefly introduced.

Dimensionality effects on the luminescence properties of hBN

Cathodoluminescence (CL) experiments at low temperature have been undertaken on various bulk and exfoliated hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) samples. Different bulk crystals grown from different synthesis methods have been studied. All of them present the same so-called S series in the 5.6-6 eV range, proving its intrinsic character. Luminescence spectra of flakes containing 100 down to 6 layers have been recorded. Strong modifications in the same UV range are observed and discussed within the general framework of 2D exciton properties in lamellar crystals.

Interfacial Properties of Monolayer and Bilayer MoS2 Contacts with Metals: Beyond the Energy Band Calculations

Although many prototype devices based on two-dimensional (2D) MoS2 have been fabricated and wafer scale growth of 2D MoS2 has been realized, the fundamental nature of 2D MoS2-metal contacts has not been well understood yet. We provide a comprehensive ab initio study of the interfacial properties of a series of monolayer (ML) and bilayer (BL) MoS2-metal contacts (metal = Sc, Ti, Ag, Pt, Ni, and Au). A comparison between the calculated and observed Schottky barrier heights (SBHs) suggests that many-electron effects are strongly suppressed in channel 2D MoS2 due to a charge transfer. The extensively adopted energy band calculation scheme fails to reproduce the observed SBHs in 2D MoS2-Sc interface. By contrast, an ab initio quantum transport device simulation better reproduces the observed SBH in 2D MoS2-Sc interface and highlights the importance of a higher level theoretical approach beyond the energy band calculation in the interface study. BL MoS2-metal contacts generally have a reduced SBH than ML MoS2-metal contacts due to the interlayer coupling and thus have a higher electron injection efficiency.

Exciton Band Structure in Two-Dimensional Materials

Low-dimensional materials differ from their bulk counterparts in many respects. In particular, the screening of the Coulomb interaction is strongly reduced, which can have important consequences such as the significant increase of exciton binding energies. In bulk materials the binding energy is used as an indicator in optical spectra to distinguish different kinds of excitons, but this is not possible in low-dimensional materials, where the binding energy is large and comparable in size for excitons of very different localization. Here we demonstrate that the exciton band structure, which can be accessed experimentally, instead provides a powerful way to identify the exciton character. By comparing the ab initio solution of the many-body Bethe-Salpeter equation for graphane and single-layer hexagonal boron nitride, we draw a general picture of the exciton dispersion in two-dimensional materials, highlighting the different role played by the exchange electron-hole interaction and by the electronic band structure. Our interpretation is substantiated by a prediction for phosphorene.

Simple Screened Hydrogen Model of Excitons in Two-Dimensional Materials

We present a generalized hydrogen model for the binding energies (E_{B}) and radii of excitons in two-dimensional (2D) materials that sheds light on the fundamental differences between excitons in two and three dimensions. In contrast to the well-known hydrogen model of three-dimensional (3D) excitons, the description of 2D excitons is complicated by the fact that the screening cannot be assumed to be local. We show that one can consistently define an effective 2D dielectric constant by averaging the screening over the extend of the exciton. For an ideal 2D semiconductor this leads to a simple expression for E_{B} that only depends on the excitonic mass and the 2D polarizability α. The model is shown to produce accurate results for 51 transition metal dichalcogenides. Remarkably, over a wide range of polarizabilities the binding energy becomes independent of the mass and we obtain E_{B}^{2D}≈3/(4πα), which explains the recently observed linear scaling of exciton binding energies with band gap. It is also shown that the model accurately reproduces the nonhydrogenic Rydberg series in WS_{2} and can account for screening from the environment.

Linear Scaling of the Exciton Binding Energy versus the Band Gap of Two-Dimensional Materials

The exciton is one of the most crucial physical entities in the performance of optoelectronic and photonic devices, and widely varying exciton binding energies have been reported in different classes of materials. Using first-principles calculations within the GW-Bethe-Salpeter equation approach, here we investigate the excitonic properties of two recently discovered layered materials: phosphorene and graphene fluoride. We first confirm large exciton binding energies of, respectively, 0.85 and 2.03 eV in these systems. Next, by comparing these systems with several other representative two-dimensional materials, we discover a striking linear relationship between the exciton binding energy and the band gap and interpret the existence of the linear scaling law within a simple hydrogenic picture. The broad applicability of this novel scaling law is further demonstrated by using strained graphene fluoride. These findings are expected to stimulate related studies in higher and lower dimensions, potentially resulting in a deeper understanding of excitonic effects in materials of all dimensionalities.

Graphdiyne-metal contacts and graphdiyne transistors

Graphdiyne was prepared on a metal surface, and the preparation of devices using it inevitably involves its contact with metals. Using density functional theory with dispersion correction, we systematically studied, for the first time, the interfacial properties of graphdiyne that is in contact with a series of metals (Al, Ag, Cu, Au, Ir, Pt, Ni, and Pd). Graphdiyne forms an n-type Ohmic or quasi-Ohmic contact with Al, Ag, and Cu, while it forms a Schottky contact with Pd, Au, Pt, Ni, and Ir (at the source/drain-channel interface), with high Schottky barrier heights of 0.21, 0.46 (n-type), 0.30, 0.41, and 0.46 (p-type) eV, respectively. A graphdiyne field effect transistor (FET) with Al electrodes was simulated using quantum transport calculations. This device exhibits an on-off ratio up to 10(4) and a very large on-state current of 1.3 × 10(4) mA mm(-1) in a 10 nm channel length. Thus, a new prospect has opened up for graphdiyne in high performance nanoscale devices.

Horizontal growth of MoS2 nanowires by chemical vapour deposition

We describe a single step route for the synthesis of MoS₂ wires using a chemical vapour deposition (CVD) method.

Efficient gate-tunable light-emitting device made of defective boron nitride nanotubes: from ultraviolet to the visible

Boron nitride is a promising material for nanotechnology applications due to its two-dimensional graphene-like, insulating, and highly-resistant structure. Recently it has received a lot of attention as a substrate to grow and isolate graphene as well as for its intrinsic UV lasing response. Similar to carbon, one-dimensional boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) have been theoretically predicted and later synthesised. Here we use first principles simulations to unambiguously demonstrate that i) BN nanotubes inherit the highly efficient UV luminescence of hexagonal BN; ii) the application of an external perpendicular field closes the electronic gap keeping the UV lasing with lower yield; iii) defects in BNNTS are responsible for tunable light emission from the UV to the visible controlled by a transverse electric field (TEF). Our present findings pave the road towards optoelectronic applications of BN-nanotube-based devices that are simple to implement because they do not require any special doping or complex growth.