arXiv subjects

Peter Kratzer

Publications and source records attributed to Peter Kratzer.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2022

Orbital and magnetic ordering in single-layer FePS3: A DFT+U study

Among the numerous 2D system that can be prepared via exfoliation, iron phosphorus trisulfide (FePS3) attracts a lot of attention recently due to its broad-range photoresponse, its unusual Ising-type magnetic order and possible applications in spintronic nano-devices. Despite various experimental and theoretical-computational reports, there are still uncertainties in identifying its magnetic ground state. In this paper, we investigate the structural and magnetic properties of single-layer FePS3 by using Density Functional Theory. Our findings show that orbital ordering leads to a variation in distance between pairs of iron atoms by 0.14 Angstrom. These lattice distortions, albeit small, trigger different (ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic) exchange couplings so that the ground state consists of ferromagnetically aligned zigzag chains along the long Fe-Fe bonds which couple antiferromagnetically along the shorter Fe-Fe bonds. Within the DFT+U framework, we parameterize a spin Hamiltonian including Heisenberg, single-ion anisotropy, Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya and biquadratic interactions. Using U=2.22eV gives a consistent description of both the electronic band gap and the Neel temperature in 2D FePS3.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2022

Relaxation of photo-excited hot carriers beyond multi-temperature models: General theory description verified by experiments on Pb/Si(111)

The equilibration of electronic carriers in metals after excitation by an ultra-short laser pulse provides an important class of non-equilibrium phenomena in metals and allows measuring the effective electron-phonon coupling parameter. Since the observed decay of the electronic distribution is governed by the interplay of both electron-electron and electron-phonon scattering, the interpretation of experimental data must rely on models that ideally should be easy to handle, yet accurate. In this work, an extended rate-equation model is proposed that explicitly includes non-thermal electronic carriers while at the same time incorporating data from first-principles calculations of the electron-phonon coupling via Eliashberg-Migdal theory. The model is verified against experimental data for thin Pb films grown on Si(111). Improved agreement between theory and experiment at short times (<0.3ps) due to non-thermal electron contributions is found. Moreover, the rate equations allow for widely different coupling strength to different phonon subsystems. Consequently, an indirect, electron-mediated energy transfer between strongly and weakly coupled groups of phonons can be observed in the simulations that leads to a retarded equilibration of the subsystems only after several picoseconds.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Electronic correlation, magnetic structure and magnetotransport in few-layer CrI3

Using density functional theory combined with a Hubbard model (DFT+U ), the electronic band structure of CrI3 multilayers, both free-standing and enclosed between graphene contacts, is calculated. We show that the DFT+U approach, together with the 'around mean field' correction scheme, is able to describe the vertical magnetotransport in line with the experimental measurements of magnetoresistance in multi-layered CrI3 enclosed between graphene contacts. Moreover, by interpolating between different double-counting correction schemes, namely the 'around mean field' correction and the fully localized limit, we show their importance for describing both the band structure and the ground-state total energy consistently. Our description of the magnetic exchange interaction is compatible with the experimentally observed antiferromagnetic ground state in the bilayer CrI3 and the transition to a ferromagnetic arrangement in a small external magnetic field. Thus, using spin-polarized DFT+U with an 'around mean field' correction, a consistent overall picture is achieved.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Real-Time Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory within FHI-aims

Real-Time Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory (TDDFT) has become an attractive tool to model quantum dynamics on a first-principles Density Functional Theory level. In recent years, several developments and applications in this field were achieved and hopefully lead to new insights. We present here our versatile and efficient Real-Time TDDFT implementation into the all-electron numerical basis-set DFT code package FHI-aims. This article is meant as a short overview on how we performed this task and what can be done with our implementation. We further shed light on the connection of the basis set size to the accuracy of absorption spectrum simulation results.

physics.comp-ph↗

arXiv2020

Relaxation of electrons in quantum-confined states in Pb/Si(111) thin films from master equation with first-principles-derived rates

Atomically thin films of Pb on Si(111) provide an experimentally tunable system comprising a highly structured electronic density of states. The lifetime of excited electrons in these states is limited by both electron-electron (e-e) and electron-phonon (e-ph) scattering. We employ the description by a master equation for the electronic occupation numbers to analyze the relative importance of both scattering mechanisms. The electronic and phononic band structures, as well as the matrix elements for electron-phonon coupling within deformation potential theory were obtained from density functional calculations, thus taking into account quantum confinement effects. For the relaxation dynamics, the contribution of impact ionization processes to the lifetime is estimated from the imaginary part of the electronic self-energy calculated in the GW approximation. By numerically solving rate equations for the occupations of the Pb-derived electronic states coupled to a phononic heat bath, we are able to follow the distribution of the electronic excitation energy to the various modes of Pb lattice vibrations. While e-e scattering is the dominant relaxation mechanism, we demonstrate that the e-ph scattering is highly phonon-mode-specific, with a large contribution from surface phonons. At electron energies of about 0.3 eV above the Fermi surface, a 'phonon bottleneck' characteristic of relaxation in nanostructures with well-separated electronic states is observed. The time scales extracted from the simulations are compared to data from pump-probe experiments using time-resolved two-photon photoemission.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Boltzmann relaxation dynamics of strongly interacting spinless fermions on a lattice

Motivated by the recent interest in non-equilibrium phenomena in quantum many-body systems, we study strongly interacting fermions on a lattice by deriving and numerically solving quantum Boltzmann equations that describe their relaxation to thermodynamic equilibrium.The derivation is carried out by inspecting the hierarchy of correlations within the framework of the 1/Z-expansion. Applying the Markov approximation, we obtain the dynamic equations for the distribution functions. Interestingly, we find that in the strong-coupling limit, collisions between particles and holes dominate over particle-particle and hole-hole collisions -- in stark contrast to weakly interacting systems. As a consequence, our numerical simulations show that the relaxation time scales strongly depend on the type of excitations (particles or holes or both) that are initially present.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2019

Molybdenum Disulphide Nanoflakes Grown by Chemical Vapour Deposition on Graphite: Nucleation, Orientation, and Charge Transfer

Two-dimensional molybdenum disulphide on graphene grown by chemical vapour deposition is a promising van der Waals system for applications in optoelectronics and catalysis. To extend the fundamental understanding of growth and intrinsic properties of molybdenum disulphide on graphene, molybdenum disulphide on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite is a suitable model system. Here we show, experimentally and by density-functional-theory calculations, that molybdenum disulphide flakes grow in two orientations. One of the orientations is energetically preferred, the other one is rotated by 30 degree. Because of a high energy barrier confirmed by our calculations both orientations are stable at room temperature and their switching can only be forced by external stimuli, i.e. by a scanning tunneling microscope tip. Combined Kelvin probe microscopy and Raman spectroscopy measurements show that the flakes with a typical size of a few hundred nanometers are less doped than the often studied exfoliated molybdenum disulphide single layer.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

Phonon-induced electronic relaxation in a strongly correlated system: the Sn/Si(111) $(\sqrt 3 \times \sqrt 3)$ adlayer revisited

The ordered adsorbate layer Sn/Si(111) $(\sqrt 3 \times \sqrt 3)$ with coverage of one third of a monolayer is considered as a realization of strong electronic correlation in surface physics. Our theoretical analysis shows that electron-hole pair excitations in this system can be long-lived, up to several hundred nanoseconds, since the decay into surface phonons is found to be a highly non-linear process. We combine first-principles calculations with help of a hybrid functional (HSE06) with modeling by a Mott-Hubbard Hamiltonian coupled to phononic degrees of freedom. The calculations show that the Sn/Si(111) $(\sqrt 3 \times \sqrt 3)$ surface is insulating and the two Sn-derived bands inside the substrate band gap can be described as the lower and upper Hubbard band in a Mott-Hubbard model with $U=0.75$eV. Furthermore, phonon spectra are calculated with particular emphasis on the Sn-related surface phonon modes. The calculations demonstrate that the adequate treatment of electronic correlations leads to a stiffening of the wagging mode of neighboring Sn atoms; thus, we predict that the onset of electronic correlations at low temperature should be observable in the phonon spectrum, too. The deformation potential for electron-phonon coupling is calculated for selected vibrational modes and the decay rate of an electron-hole excitation into multiple phonons is estimated, substantiating the very long lifetime of these excitations.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2019

Adsorption and dissociation of iron phthalocyanine on H/Si(111): Impact of van-der-Waals interactions and perspectives for subsurface doping

The adsorption of iron phthalocyanine (FePc) on the passivated H/Si(111) surface is explored from first principles. We find that the organic molecule is predominantly physisorbed with a distance to the surface of $2.6 \pm 0.1$ Angstrom, but also exhibits sizable resonance with the underlying substrate. This establishes the present system as interesting mixed covalent-van-der-Waals-bound test case, which we use to compare the impact of different approaches to van-der-Waals interactions. (Spin-polarized) scanning tunneling microscopy (SP STM) images are simulated, selectively accessing different molecular orbitals via the applied bias voltage in the spirit of scanning tunneling spectroscopy. Comparison with experimental STM images reveals very good agreement. We find a significant magnetic contrast exceeding $\pm 1$ Angstrom in the SP STM images for $-2$ and $+1.5$ V. Binding energies of different (transition metal) atoms in the center of the Pc ring are presented, which particularly show that Fe is strongly bound in the molecule (about $9.6$ eV). Finally, we discuss different reactions for subsurface doping by room-temperature FePc deposition and point out two feasible reactions.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2018

Ab initio simulation of the structure and transport properties of zirconium and ferromagnetic cobalt contacts on the two-dimensional semiconductor WS_2

Using density-functional theory calculations, the atomic and electronic structure of single-layer WS_2 attached to Zr and Co contacts are determined. Both metals form stable interfaces that are promising as contacts for injection of n-type carriers into the conduction band of WS_2 with Schottky barriers of 0.45eV and 0.62eV for Zr and Co, respectively. With the help of quantum transport calculations, we address the conductive properties of a free-standing WS_2 sheet suspended between two Zr contacts. It is found that such a device behaves like a diode with steep I-V characteristics. Spin-polarized transport is calculated for such a device with a floating-gate Co electrode added. Depending on the geometrical shape of the Co gate and the energy of the carriers in WS_2, the transmission of spin majority and minority electrons may differ by up to an order of magnitude. Thus the steep I-V characteristics of the nanoscale device makes it possible to realize a spin filter.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2018

Atomic-scale detection of magnetic impurity interactions in bulk semiconductors

We demonstrate on the basis of ab initio simulations how passivated semiconductor surfaces can be exploited to study bulklike interaction properties and wave functions of magnetic impurities on the atomic scale with conventional and spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy. By applying our approach to the case of $3d$ transition metal impurities close to the H/Si$(111)$ surface, we show exemplarily that their wave functions in Si are less extended than for Mn in GaAs, thus obstructing ferromagnetism in Si. Finally, we discuss possible applications of this method to other dilute magnetic semiconductors.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2018

Spincaloric properties of epitaxial Co$_2$MnSi/MgO/Co$_2$MnSi magnetic tunnel junctions

The electronic transport and spincaloric properties of epitaxial magnetic tunnel junctions with half-metallic Co$_2$MnSi Heusler electrodes, MgO tunneling barriers, and different interface terminations are investigated by using first-principles calculations. A new approach to spincaloric properties is presented that circumvents the linear response approximation inherent in the Seebeck coefficient and compared to the method of Sivan and Imry. This approach supports two different temperatures in the two electrodes and provides the exact current and/or voltage response of the system. Moreover, it accounts for temperature-dependent chemical potentials in the electrodes and finite-bias effects. We find that especially the former are important for obtaining qualitatively correct results, even if the variations of the chemical potentials are small. It is shown how the spincaloric properties can be tailored by the choice of the growth conditions. We find a large effective and spin-dependent Seebeck coefficient of $-65$ $μ$V/K at room temperature for the purely Co-terminated interface. We suggest to use such interfaces in thermally operated magnetoresistive random access memory modules, which exploit the magneto-Seebeck effect, to maximize the thermally induced readout voltage.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

Native defects in the Co$_2$Ti$Z$ ($Z=$ Si, Ge, Sn) full Heusler alloys: formation and influence on the thermoelectric properties

We have performed first-principles investigations on the native defects in the full Heusler alloys Co$_2$Ti$Z$ ($Z$ one of the group IV elements Si, Ge, Sn), determining their formation energies and how they influence the transport properties. We find that Co vacancies (Vc) in all compounds and the Ti$_\text{Sn}$ anti-site exhibit negative formation energies. The smallest positive values occur for Co in excess on anti-sites (Co$_Z$ or Co$_\text{Ti}$) and for Ti$_Z$. The most abundant native defects were modeled as dilute alloys, treated with the coherent potential approximation in combination with the multiple-scattering theory Green function approach. The self-consistent potentials determined this way were used to calculate the residual resistivity via the Kubo-Greenwood formula and, based on its energy dependence, the Seebeck coefficient of the systems. The latter is shown to depend significantly on the type of defect, leading to variations that are related to subtle, spin-orbit coupling induced, changes in the electronic structure above the half-metallic gap. Two of the systems, Vc$_\text{Co}$ and Co$_Z$, are found to exhibit a negative Seebeck coefficient. This observation, together with their low formation energy, offers an explanation for the experimentally observed negative Seebeck coefficient of the Co$_2$Ti$Z$ compounds as being due to unintentionally created native defects.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2016

The role of the van der Waals interactions in the adsorption of anthracene and pentacene on the Ag(111) surface

Using first-principles calculations based on density-functional theory (DFT) we investigated the effects of the van der Waals (vdW) interactions on the structural and electronic properties of anthracene and pentacene adsorbed on the Ag(111) surface. We found that the inclusion of vdW corrections strongly affects the binding of both anthracene/Ag(111) and pentacene/Ag(111), yielding adsorption heights and energies more consistent with the experimental results than standard DFT calculations with generalized gradient approximation (GGA). For anthracene/Ag(111) the effect of the vdW interactions is even more dramatic: we found that pure DFT-GGA calculations (without including vdW corrections) result in preference for a tilted configuration, in contrast to experimental observations of flat-lying adsorption; including vdW corrections, on the other hand, alters the binding geometry of anthracene/Ag(111), favoring the flat configuration. The electronic structure obtained using a self-consistent vdW scheme was found to be nearly indistinguishable from the conventional DFT electronic structure once the correct vdW geometry is employed for these physisorbed systems. Moreover, we show that a vdW correction scheme based on a hybrid functional DFT calculation (HSE) results in an improved description of the highest occupied molecular level of the adsorbed molecules.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2016

Ternary Semiconductors NiZrSn and CoZrBi with half-Heusler structure: a first-principles study

The ternary semiconductors NiZrSn and CoZrBi with C1_b crystal structure are introduced by calculating their basic structural, electronic and phononic properties using density functional theory. Both the gradient-corrected PBE functional and the hybrid functional HSE06 are employed. While NiZrSn is found to be a small-band-gap semiconductor (E_g = 0.46 eV in PBE and 0.60 eV in HSE06), CoZrBi has a band gap of 1.01 eV in PBE (1.34 eV in HSE06). Moreover, effective masses and deformation potentials are reported. In both materials ABC, the intrinsic point defects introduced by species A (Ni or Co) are calculated. The Co-induced defects in CoZrBi are found to have a higher formation energy compared to Ni-induced defects in NiZrSn. The interstitial Ni atom (Ni_i ) as well as the V_Ni Ni_i complex introduce defect states in the band gap, whereas the Ni vacancy (V_Ni) only reduces the size of the band gap. Motivated by the reported use of NiZrSn for thermoelectric applications, the Seebeck coefficient of both materials is calculated. We find that CoZrBi displays a rather large thermopower of up to 500 micro-V/K when p-doped, whereas NiZrSn possesses its maximum thermopower in the n-type regime. The reported difficulties in achieving p-type doping in NiZrSn could be rationalized by the unintended formation of Ni_i^2+ in conjunction with extrinsic acceptors, resulting in their compensation. Moreover, it is found that all types of defects considered, when present in concentrations as large as 3%, tend to reduce the thermopower compared to ideal bulk crystals at T=600K. For NiZrSn, the calculated thermodynamic data suggest that additional Ni impurities could be removed by annealing, leading to precipitation of a metallic Ni_2ZrSn phase.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2015

Reduced thermal conductivity of TiNiSn/HfNiSn superlattices

Diminution of the thermal conductivity is a crucial aspect in thermoelectric research. We report a systematic and significant reduction of the cross-plane thermal conductivity in a model system consisting of DC sputtered TiNiSn and HfNiSn half-Heusler superlattices. The reduction of $κ$ is measured by the 3$ω$ method and originates from phonon scattering at the internal interfaces. Heat transport in the superlattices is calculated based on Boltzmann transport theory, including a diffusive mismatch model for the phonons at the internal interfaces. Down to superlattice periodicity of 3 nm the phonon spectrum mismatch between the superlattice components quantitatively explains the reduction of $κ$. For very thin individual layers the interface model breaks down and the artificial crystal shows an enhanced $κ$. We also present an enhanced ZT value for all investigated superlattices compared to the single TiNiSn and HfNiSn films.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2014

Large morphological sensitivity of the magnetothermopower in Co/Cu multilayered systems

We present results of first-principles calculations on the transport properties, both under an electric field or a temperature gradient, in the Co/Cu multilayered systems. The various effects brought about by the changes in the morphological parameters, such as the number of repeats and the layer thickness, are discussed in a systematic way. Our calculations show that the Seebeck coefficient and the magnetothermopower (MTP) converge rather rapidly with the number of Co repeats. In the range of thin Co layers, we find strong variations in amplitude and sign of both the Seebeck coefficient and the MTP. These large variations, which have no correspondent in the (magneto)conductance, are shown to be the result of quantum well states present in the minority spin channel of thin Co layers.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2014

Atomistic calculation of the thermoelectric properties of Si nanowires

The thermoelectric properties of 1.6 nm-thick Si square nanowires with [100] crystalline orientation are calculated over a wide temperature range from 0 K to 1000 K, taking into account atomistic electron-phonon interaction. In our model, the [010] and [001] facets are passivated by hydrogen and there are Si-Si dimers on the nanowire surface. The electronic structure was calculated by using the sp^3 spin-orbit-coupled atomistic second-nearest-neighbor tight-binding model. The phonon dispersion was calculated from a valence force field model of the Brenner type. A scheme for calculating electron-phonon matrix elements from a second-nearest neighbor tight-binding model is presented. Based on Fermi's golden rule, the electron-phonon transition rate was obtained by combining the electron and phonon eigenstates. Both elastic and inelastic scattering processes are taken into consideration. The temperature dependence of transport characteristics was calculated by using a solution of linearized Boltzmann transport equation obtained by means of the iterative Orthomin method. At room temperature, the electron mobility is 195 cm^2/(Vs) and increases with temperature, while a figure-of-mertit ZT=0.38 is reached for n-type doping with a concentration of n=10^19 cm^-3.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗