학술논문

Electronic structure, dynamic stability, elastic, and optical properties of MgTMN2 (TM = Ti, Zr, Hf) ternary nitrides from first-principles calculations.
Document Type
Article
Source
Journal of Applied Physics. 4/7/2021, Vol. 129 Issue 13, p1-9. 9p.
Subject
*DYNAMIC stability
*ELECTRONIC structure
*NITRIDES
*OPTICAL properties
*PHONON dispersion relations
*ELASTICITY
*ELASTIC modulus
Language
ISSN
0021-8979
Abstract
Ternary nitride semiconductors with tunable electronic structure and charge transport properties have attracted increasing attention as optoelectronic materials. The recently discovered ternary Mg T M N 2 (T M = Ti , Zr , Hf) are predicted to be nondegenerate semiconductors with visible-range optical absorption onsets. In the present study, the electronic structure, elastic properties, optical absorption spectrum, and dynamic stability of the Mg T M N 2 system have been systematically studied by first-principles calculations based on the density functional theory. These compounds show semiconductor characteristics with a bandgap ranging from 1.0 to 1.5 eV predicted by the Heyd–Scuseria–Ernzerhof approach. Compared to the traditional semiconductors of Si and GaAs and III–V nitrides of GaN and AlN, these ternary nitrides have stronger resistance to external compression, shear strain, and deformation due to the larger elastic modulus. MgTiN 2 shows a strong anisotropy characteristic along the x y plane and z axis, while for MgZrN 2 and MgHfN 2 , a weak elastic anisotropy is predicted. The absorption regions of these compounds are mainly concentrated in the ultraviolet region, and MgTiN 2 is more sensitive to visible light with respect to the other two compounds. The thermodynamic stability of MgTiN 2 , MgZrN 2 , and MgHfN 2 is verified by the stable phonon dispersion relations. It is found that the most stable low Miller index surface is (110) for MgTiN 2 and (100) for MgZrN 2 and MgHfN 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]