arXiv subjects

Jiban Kangsabanik

Publications and source records attributed to Jiban Kangsabanik.

17 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Defect Tolerance in Trigonal Selenium Photovoltaics

Understanding how point defects fundamentally influence photovoltaic performance remains a central question for emerging wide-band gap absorbers. Trigonal selenium (t-Se) has recently re-emerged as a promising photovoltaic material due to its near-optimal band gap for tandem and indoor applications. Here we quantify defect-assisted Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) recombination in t-Se using first principles calculations across a large and chemically diverse set of point defects. Our results suggest that t-Se is intrinsically defect tolerant. Despite the presence of multiple deep levels in the gap, recombination via nonradiative multi-phonon emission processes is strongly suppressed by large lattice reorganizations and large energy releases of at least 0.5 EG per recombination event, while radiative defect-assisted capture also remains too small to account for the observed device losses. Consequently, SRH recombination mediated by realistic concentrations of point defects cannot account for the observed efficiency limitations in selenium photovoltaics. We explore trends in both radiative and nonradiative SRH recombination rates across the defect data set, highlighting their complex dependence on defect level position, lattice relaxation, charge state, and doping conditions. These findings establish trigonal selenium as a defect-tolerant wide-band-gap absorber and provide transferable design principles for optimizing next-generation photovoltaic materials for tandem and indoor applications.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Defect-Assisted Recombination in Semiconductors and Photovoltaic Device Parameters from First Principles

We introduce a method to calculate defect-assisted Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) recombination rates in imperfect semiconductors from first principles. The method accounts for the steady state recombination dynamics under given non-equilibrium conditions (split quasi Fermi levels), by invoking a full solution to the rate equations describing transitions across the band gap via all possible charge states of the defect. Transition rates due to radiative and non-radiative multi-phonon emission processes are calculated from first principles. The method is used to evaluate the effect of selected defects on the photovoltaic device parameters of seven emergent photovoltaic semiconductors. These examples clearly highlight the limitations of commonly employed approximations to the recombination dynamics. Our work advances the description and understanding of defect-induced losses in photovoltaics and provides a basis for developing the important concept of defect tolerant semiconductors and to discover high-performance photovoltaic materials computationally.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

GPAW: An open Python package for electronic-structure calculations

We review the GPAW open-source Python package for electronic structure calculations. GPAW is based on the projector-augmented wave method and can solve the self-consistent density functional theory (DFT) equations using three different wave-function representations, namely real-space grids, plane waves, and numerical atomic orbitals. The three representations are complementary and mutually independent and can be connected by transformations via the real-space grid. This multi-basis feature renders GPAW highly versatile and unique among similar codes. By virtue of its modular structure, the GPAW code constitutes an ideal platform for implementation of new features and methodologies. Moreover, it is well integrated with the Atomic Simulation Environment (ASE) providing a flexible and dynamic user interface. In addition to ground-state DFT calculations, GPAW supports many-body GW band structures, optical excitations from the Bethe-Salpeter Equation (BSE), variational calculations of excited states in molecules and solids via direct optimization, and real-time propagation of the Kohn-Sham equations within time-dependent DFT. A range of more advanced methods to describe magnetic excitations and non-collinear magnetism in solids are also now available. In addition, GPAW can calculate non-linear optical tensors of solids, charged crystal point defects, and much more. Recently, support of GPU acceleration has been achieved with minor modifications of the GPAW code thanks to the CuPy library. We end the review with an outlook describing some future plans for GPAW.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2023

Selenium and the role of defects for photovoltaic applications

We present first principles calculations of the electronic properties of trigonal selenium with emphasis on photovoltaic applications. The band gap and optical absorption spectrum of pristine selenium is calculated from many-body perturbation theory yielding excellent agreement with experiments. We then investigate the role of intrinsic as well as extrinsic defects and estimate the equilibrium concentrations resulting from realistic synthesis conditions. The intrinsic defects are dominated by vacancies and we show that these do not result in significant non-radiative recombination. The charge balance remains dominated by vacancies when extrinsic defects are included, but these may give rise to sizable non-radiative recombination rates, which could severely limit the performance of selenium based solar cells. Our results thus imply that the pollution by external elements is a decisive factor for the photovoltaic efficiency, which will be of crucial importance when considering synthesis conditions for any type of device engineering.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2023

Optoelectronic and Transport Properties of Vacancy Ordered Double Perovskite Halides: A First-principles Study

In the search for stable lead (Pb) free perovskites, Vacancy ordered double perovskite (VODP), A$_2$BX$_6$ has emerged as a promising class of materials for solar harvesting owing to their nontoxicity, better stability, and unique optoelectronic properties. Here, we present the stability and the key physical attributes of few selected compounds in a systematic manner using state-of-the-art first-principle calculations. A careful structural and stability analysis via simulating convex hull and compositional phase diagrams for different structural prototypes discloses 14 stable and 1 metastable compounds in this class. The electronic structure calculations using hybrid functional reveals six compounds to acquire band gap in the ideal visible region. These six compounds, namely Cs$_2$SnI$_6$, Cs$_2$PdI$_6$, Cs$_2$TeI$_6$, Cs$_2$TiI$_6$, Cs$_2$PtI$_6$, and Cs$_2$PdBr$_6$, show high optical absorption ($\approx$ 10$^{5}$ cm $^{-1}$) giving rise to high spectroscopic limited maximum efficiency, SLME (15-23\%) in the thin-film thickness range. Close inspection of transport properties reveals polar optical phonon scattering to be the dominant mechanism limiting the overall mobility. Further analysis of the polaron excitations discloses the possibility of large polaron formation at low to moderate defect concentrations. At high defect concentrations, ionized impurity scattering takes over. This suggests that, a simulation based guided control of defect concentrations during synthesis can yield a desired candidate for promissing device application. Additionally, few selected compounds show moderate to high electron mobility values ($\sim$13-63 cm$^2$V$^{-1}$ s$^{-1}$) at room temperature. Overall, the present study paves an important path to help design VODP as Pb-free potential candidates for future optoelectronic applications.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2022

Indirect band gap semiconductors for thin-film photovoltaics: High-throughput calculation of phonon-assisted absorption

Discovery of high-performance materials remains one of the most active areas in photovoltaics (PV) research. Indirect band gap materials form the largest part of the semiconductor chemical space, but predicting their suitability for PV applications from first principles calculations remains challenging. Here we propose a computationally efficient method to account for phonon assisted absorption across the indirect band gap and use it to screen 127 experimentally known binary semiconductors for their potential as thin film PV absorbers. Using screening descriptors for absorption, carrier transport, and nonradiative recombination, we identify 28 potential candidate materials. The list, which contains 20 indirect band gap semiconductors, comprises both well established (3), emerging (16), and previously unexplored (9) absorber materials. Most of the new compounds are anion rich chalcogenides (TiS$_3$, Ga$_2$Te$_5$) and phosphides (PdP$_2$, CdP$_4$, MgP$_4$, BaP$_3$) containing homoelemental bonds, and represent a new frontier in PV materials research. Our work highlights the previously underexplored potential of indirect band gap materials for optoelectronic thin-film technologies.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2022

Disorder-mediated quenching of magnetization in NbVTiAl: Theory and Experiment

In this paper, we present the structural, electronic, magnetic and transport properties of a equiatomic quaternary alloy NbVTiAl. The absence of (111) and (200) peaks in X-ray diffraction (XRD) data confirms the A2-type structure. Magnetization measurements indicate a high Curie temperature and a negligibly small magnetic moment ($\sim 10^{-3} μ_B/f.u.$) These observations are indicative of fully compensated ferrimagnetism in the alloy. Temperature-dependent resistivity indicates metallic nature. Ab-initio calculation of fully ordered NbVTiAl structure confirms a nearly half metallic behavior with a high spin polarization ($\sim$ 90 \%) and a net magnetic moment of 0.8 $μ_B/f.u.$ (in complete contrast to the experimental observation). One of the main objective of the present paper is to resolve and explain the long-standing discrepancy between theoretical prediction and experimental observation of magnetization for V-based quaternary Heusler alloys, in general. To gain an in-depth understanding, we modelled various disordered states and its subsequent effect on the magnetic and electronic properties. The discrepancy is attributed to the A2 disorder present in the system, as confirmed by our XRD data. The presence of disorder also causes the emergence of finite states at the Fermi level, which impacts the spin polarization of the system.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Bipolar Magnetic Semiconducting Behavior in VNbRuAl: A New Spintronic Material for Spin Filters

We report the theoretical prediction of a new class of spintronic materials, namely bipolar magnetic semiconductor (BMS), which is also supported by our experimental data. BMS acquires a unique band structure with unequal band gaps for spin up and down channels, and thus are useful for tunable spin transport based applications such as spin filters. The valence band (VB) and conduction band (CB) in BMS approach the Fermi level through opposite spin channels, and hence facilitate to achieve reversible spin polarization which are controllable via applied gate voltage. We report the quaternary Heusler alloy VNbRuAl to exactly possess the band structure of BMS. The alloy is found to crystallize in LiMgPdSn prototype structure (space group $F\bar{4}3m$) with B$2$ disorder and lattice parameter 6.15 Å. The resistivity and Hall measurements show a two channel semiconducting behavior and a quasi linear dependence of negative magneto resistance (MR) indicating the possible semiconducting nature. Interestingly, VNbRuAl also shows a fully compensated ferrimagnetic (FCF) behavior with vanishing net magnetization (m$_s$$\sim$ $10^{-3}$ $μ_B/f.u.$) and significantly high ordering temperature ($> 900$ K). Unlike conventional FCF, vanishing moment in this case appears to be the result of a combination of long range antiferromagnetic (AFM) ordering and the inherent B2 disorder of the crystal. This study opens up the possibility of finding a class of materials for AFM spintronics, with great significance both from fundamental and applied fronts.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2020

Optoelectronic Properties and Defect Physics of Lead-free Photovoltaic Absorbers Cs$_2$Au$^{I}$Au$^{III}$X$_6$ (X=I, Br)

Stability and toxicity issues with the hybrid lead iodide perovskite MAPbI$_3$ necessitate a hunt for potential alternatives. Here, we shed light on promising photovoltaic properties of gold mixed-valence halide perovskites Cs$_2$Au$_2$X$_6$ (X = I, Br, Cl). They satisfy fundamental requirements such as nontoxicity, better stability, a band gap in the visible range, and a low excitonic binding energy. Our study shows a favorable electronic structure, resulting in a high optical-transition strength, and thus a sharp rise in the absorption spectrum near the band gap. This, in turn, yields a very high short-circuit current density and hence higher simulated efficiency compared with MAPbI$_3$. However, careful investigation of defect physics reveals the possibility of deep-level defects (such as V$_X$ , V$_{Cs}$, X$_{Au}$, X$_{Cs}$, Au$_i$, and Au$_X$ , X = I, Br), depending on the growth conditions. These can act as carrier traps and become detrimental to photovoltaic performance. The present study should help in taking necessary precautions in synthesizing these compounds in a controlled chemical environment, which should minimize performance limiting defects and pave the way for future studies on this class of materials.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

High Performance Ternary Alkali Nitrides for Renewable Energy Applications

Rapid decline in fossil fuel energy necessitates the immediate need for renewable energy resources. Here, we report a previously unexplored class of nitrides AMN$_2$ keeping renewable energy applications in mind. Using a detailed structure and stability analysis using first principles simulation, we discovered twelve such compounds (few of which are already synthesized before), which are chemically, mechanically and dynamically stable. These twelve compounds were then evaluated for their suitability for three renewable energy applications, (i) photovoltaics, (ii) water splitting, and (iii) thermoelectrics. Careful analysis of electronic structure reveals high optical transition strength resulting in sharp rise in absorption. This in turn yields high short circuit current and hence excellent solar efficiency for few compounds namely CsVN$_2$ and RbVN$_2$. Along with excellent absorption quality, some compounds show favorable band edge positions compared to water redox levels and hence are promising as photoelectrodes in photo(electro)chemical water splitting devices. Mixture of flat and dispersive bands in the band structure yields both high Seebeck and electrical conductivity, thus excellent power factor for seven compounds. Simulated lattice thermal conductivity shows moderate to ultralow values and thus the possibility of achieving high thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT), even at lower temperatures. From the experimental perspective, we discuss the possible challenges that may arise while utilizing these compounds for the desired applications, and suggest possible pathways to overcome them. We believe such theoretical prediction of promising materials are extremely useful for new materials discovery and anticipate rapid response from the experimental community.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

Accurate high-throughput screening of I-II-V 8-electron Half-Heusler compounds for renewable-energy applications

Renewable energy resources have emerged as the best alternatives to fossil fuel energy which are rapidly declining with time. Here, eight valence-electron count Half-Heusler(HH) alloys have been studied using reliable first principles calculations in the search of potential candidates for renewable energy applications like thermoelectric (TE), solar harvesting, topological insulator (TI) and transparent conductor (TC) applications. The initial screening parameters used for our study are chemical and thermal stability, band gap, nature of bandgap and band inversion strength. We have performed quasistatic G0W0 calculation starting from HSE groundstate wavefunction to predict the most accurate estimation of bandgap for these class of compounds. A total of 960 compounds were simulated. 121 out of 960 compounds were found to be thermally and chemically stable. 31 compounds with bandgap less than 1.5 eV were studied for thermoelectric application out of which 13 compounds were found to show thermoelectric figure of merit ZT > 0.7 for both p-type and n-type conduction. 30 compounds with band gap 1-1.8 eV were studied for optoelectronic application out of which 13 compounds were found to show Spectroscopic Limited Maximum Efficiency (SLME) more than 20%, comparable to existing state of the art materials. 21 compounds were found to show band inversion at ambient conditions which is a necessary condition for topological insulators. The surface band structure calculations for one of the promising candidate was done to check robustness of the topological behaviour. 29 compounds were found to have bandgap more than 2 eV which are promoted for transparent conductor applications with further band engineering. We strongly believe that our calculations will give useful insights to experimentalists for synthesizing and investigating proposed compounds for different energy applications.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2018

Double Perovskites overtaking the single perovskites : A set of new solar harvesting materials with much higher stability and efficiency

Hybrid Lead halide perovskites, despite having unique intrinsic properties with the possibility of flexible synthesis and device fabrication, still suffer from two fundamental issues, i.e. stability in external environment and toxicity due to lead. More recently, double perovskite materials have emerged as a promising choice. The main outcome from various studies on this class can essentially be summarized into two categories, (i) either they have indirect band gap or (ii) direct but large optical band gap, which are not suitable for solar devices. Here we propose a combinatorial set of stable double perovskite materials, Cs$_2$BB$^{'}$X$_6$ (for various B, B$^{'}$) (X=Cl,Br,I), which show indirect to direct band gap transition via small Pb$^{+2}$ doping. This kind of doping has helped to change the topology of band structure triggering an optically allowed transition from valence band maxima to conduction band minima. It also reduces the band gap significantly, bringing it well in the visible region. Simulation reveals comparable/higher absorption coefficient and solar efficiency with respect to the state of the art photovoltaic absorber material CH$_3$NH$_3$PbI$_3$. Our experimentally measured properties on Cs$_2$(Ag$_{0.75}$Pb$_{0.25}$)(Bi$_{0.75}$Pb$_{0.25}$)Br$_6$ agrees fairly well with the theoretical predictions. With higher stability than CH$_3$NH$_3$PbI$_3$, this material shows the potential to be a better candidate.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2018

$\mathrm{Co_2Fe_{1-x}Cr_xSi}$ Heusler Alloys : A promising material for spintronics application

In this article, we investigated the effect of Cr substitution in place of Fe on the structural, magnetic and transport properties of $\mathrm{Co_2FeSi}$ alloy. A comprehensive structural analysis is done using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy. Quaternary Heusler compounds $\mathrm{Co_2Fe_{1-x}Cr_xSi}$ with Cr content (x = 0.1, 0.3, 0.5) were found to crystallize in cubic structure. The synchrotron based EXAFS studies reveal that the anti-site disorder increases with the increase in Cr concentration. The saturation magnetization values in all the alloys are found to be less than those expected from the Slater-Pauling rule, which may be due to the some inherent disorder. A detailed resistivity analysis in the temperature range of 5-300 K is done, taking into account different scattering mechanisms. The residual resistivity ratio is found to decrease with increasing Cr concentration. A disorder induced resistivity minimum due to weak localization effect is seen for x = 0.5. The resistivity measurements also indicate that the half-metallic character survives upto 100 K for x = 0.1, whereas the alloys with x= 0.3 and 0.5 show signature of half- metallic nature even at higher temperatures. First principles calculation done with a more robust exchange correlation functional (namely HSE-06) confirms the half metallicity in the entire concentration range. Theoretically simulated band gap and magnetic moments compliment the experimental findings and are compared wherever possible. All these properties make $\mathrm{Co_2Fe_{1-x}Cr_xSi}$ a promising material for spintronics application.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

Anomalous random correlations of force constants on the lattice dynamical properties of disordered Au-Fe alloys

Au-Fe alloys are of immense interest due to their biocompatibility, anomalous hall conductivity, and applications in various medical treatment. However, irrespective of the method of preparation, they often exhibit a high-level of disorder, with properties sensitive to the thermal or magnetic annealing temperatures. We calculate lattice dynamical properties of Au$_{1-x}$Fe$_x$ alloys using density functional theory methods, where, being a multisite property, reliable interatomic force constant (IFC) calculations in disordered alloys remain a challenge. We follow a two fold approach: (1) an accurate IFC calculation in an environment with nominally zero chemical pair correlations to mimic the homogeneously disordered alloy; and (2) a configurational averaging for the desired phonon properties (e.g., dispersion, density of states, and entropy). We find an anomalous change in the IFC's and phonon dispersion (split bands) near $x$=0.19, which is attributed to the local stiffening of the Au-Au bonds when Au is in the vicinity of Fe. Other results based on mechanical and thermo-physical properties reflect a similar anomaly: Phonon entropy, e.g., becomes negative below $x$=0.19, suggesting a tendency for chemical unmixing, reflecting the onset of miscibility gap in the phase diagram. Our results match fairly well with reported data, wherever available.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2016

Bismuth based Half Heusler Alloys with giant thermoelectric figure of merit

Half Heusler (HH) thermoelectric alloys provide a wide platform to choose materials with non-toxic and earth abundant elements. This article presents an ab-initio theoretical evaluation of electrical and thermal transport properties of three Bismuth-based most promising thermoelectric alloys, selected out of 54 stable HH compounds. These are brand new compounds which are recently proposed to be stable (Nature Chem. 7, 308 (2015)) and may have interesting properties. The calculated band structure of the three compounds, namely HfRhBi, ZrIrBi and ZrRhBi, served as a hint for their promising thermoelectric properties. To gain confidence on the theoretical predictions of these unreported systems, we first checked our calculated results for a well studied similar compound, ZrNiSn, and showed reasonable agreement with the measured ones. HfRhBi and ZrIrBi turn out to be narrow band gap while ZrRhBi is a moderate band gap semiconductor. A detailed study of the carrier concentration and temperature dependance of the Seebeck coefficient (S), Power factor (S$^2 σ$), lattice ($κ_L$) and electronic ($κ_e$) thermal conductivity and hence the figure of merit (ZT) is carried out. In contrast to most promising known thermoelectric materials, we found high power factor for these materials (highest S$^2 σ\sim$17.36 mWm$^{-1}$K$^{-2}$ for p-type ZrIrBi). All the three systems (specially p-type) show high figure of merit, with ZT value as high as 0.45 for ideal crystal. Maximum ZT and the corresponding optimal n- and p-type doping concentrations ($n_c$) are calculated for all the three compounds, which shall certainly pave guidance to future experimental work.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2016

La-doped CH3NH3BaI3 : A Promising Transparent Conductor

Hybrid perovskites (CH3NH3PbI3) is one of the most promising novel materials for solar harvesting. Toxicity of lead (Pb), however, has always remained a concern. We investigated the electronic structure of complete replacement of Pb by alkaline earths (Ca, Sr, Ba) and found it to be wide band gapped (Eg) semiconductors (band gap ~ 3.7 to 4.0 eV), and hence not suitable as absorber material. This opens up a new avenue to explore these materials as transparent conductor (TC). We doped CH3NH3BaI3 (largest Eg) with La, which shifts its Fermi level (EF) at conduction band bottom and induces states at EF for conduction. This is precisely what is required for a transparent conductor. Optical and transport properties simulated from linear response (within Density Functional Theory (DFT)) calculations suggested it to be a very good TC material with a high figure of merit (σ/α), where σ is the electrical conductivity and α is the optical absorption coefficient. This claim is also supported by our calculated results on density of states at EF, effective mass, carrier concentration etc. at various La-doping. We propose CH3NH3(Ba1-xLax)I3 (x~12.5%) to be a good TC material to be used in a all perovskite solar cell.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2016

Crystal structure, stability and optoelectronic properties of the organic-inorganic wide bandgap perovskite CH3NH3BaI3: Candidate for transparent conductor applications

Structural stability, electronic structure and optical properties of CH3NH3BaI3 hybrid perovskite is examined both from theory as well as experiment. Solution-processed thin films of CH3NH3BaI3 exhibited a high band gap of approximately 3.87 eV, which is in excellent agreement with the theoretical estimate of 4 eV. Also, the XRD patterns of the thin films match well with the l-peaks of the simulated pattern obtained from the relaxed unit cell of CH3NH3BaI3, crystallizing in the I4/mcm space group, with lattice parameters, a = 9.30 A, c = 13.94 A. Atom projected density of state and band structure calculations reveal the conduction and valence band edges to be comprised primarily of Barium d-orbitals and Iodine p-orbitals, respectively. The larger band gap of CH3NH3BaI3 compared to CH3NH3PbI3 can be attributed to the lower electro-negativity coupled with the lack of d-orbitals in the valence band of Ba{2+}. A more detailed analysis reveals the excellent chemical and mechanical stability of CH3NH3BaI3 against humidity, unlike its lead halide counterpart, which degrades under such conditions. The dopability of the CH3NH3BaI3 compound e.g. by doping La on the Ba site combined with its structural and mechanical stability under the ambient conditions, suggests this compound as a promising candidate for transparent conductor applications, especially for all perovskite solar cells.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗