Systematic comparison of approximations and functionals in first-principle calculations of aluminum-based III-V ferroelectric nitrides

Abstract

We revisit first-principles predictions of structural, ferroelectric, and electronic properties in aluminum-based III-V nitride alloys, focusing on Al1-xScxN and Al1-xBxN. Using density functional theory within a unified 48-atom supercell framework, we systematically assess the role of chemical disorder and exchange-correlation approximations by comparing the virtual crystal approximation (VCA) and special quasirandom structures (SQS), as well as PBE, PBESol, SCAN, and SCAN+rVV10 functionals. We demonstrate that, even amongst the similar PBE and PBESol functionals, big quantitative and qualitative differences emerge. In particular, the VCA or SQS PBESol (a popular functional) strongly underestimate the stability domain of the ferroelectric wurtzite phase in Al1-xScxN compared to SQS PBE or SQS SCAN. We demonstrate that the 5-fold coordinated hexagonal phase predicted in 2002 by Farrer and Bellaiche [Phys. Rev. B 66, 201203] is a low-energy metastable state between the four-fold coordinated ferroelectric wurtzite phase and the six-fold coordinated rocksalt phase near the transition point upon increasing the Sc content. In contrast, Al1-xBxN shows a much faster destabilization of the wurtzite ferroelectric phase, with bond breaking which strongly distorts the wurtzite structure (with enhanced polarization) and eventually favor a zincblende phase and a threefold coordinated hexagonal layer phase. Our analysis highlights the critical importance of both local disorder and exchange-correlation treatment in predicting the functional properties of III-V nitride ferroelectrics. Overall, SQS combined with SCAN provides the most consistent theoretical framework for understanding and optimizing emerging nitride-based ferroelectric materials.