arXiv subjects

R. Prasad

Publications and source records attributed to R. Prasad.

40 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2004

Sample dependence of the structural, vibrational, and electronic properties of a-Si:H: A density-functional-based tight-binding study

The sample dependence of various properties of hydrogenated amorphous silicon ($a$-Si:H) have been studied with 216 silicon atoms and 24 hydrogen atoms using the density functional based tight binding molecular dynamics simulations. The Si-Si and Si-H pair correlation functions are independent of preparation procedure as well as initial conditions, the H-H pair correlation functions are sample dependent. The distribution of hydrogen atoms in all the samples is nonuniform and depends upon the preparation procedure as well as the initial structure from which the hydrogenated amorphous silicon sample is generated. The Si-Si bond length and Si-Si-Si bond angle distributions are nearly independent of sample preparation procedure, but Si-H bond length distributions are sample dependent. The peaks in the vibrational density of states (VDOS) at high frequencies are in reasonable accord with the experimental results. The positions of the high frequency peaks are found to be dependent on the local environment. While the high frequency vibrational modes related to Si-Si bond vibrations are moderately localized, the vibrational modes related to Si-H bond vibrations in $a$-Si:H samples are highly localized. In samples generated from the liquid quench the free energy is smaller, whereas the entropy and specific heat are larger as compared to that of samples generated by hydrogenation of pure amorphous silicon samples. The total electronic density of states and local density of electronic states (LDOS) at Si atom sites are nearly sample independent, while the LDOS at the H atom sites are dependent on the sample preparation procedure.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2004

Energy Functional dependence of exchange coupling and magnetic properties of Fe/Nb multilayers

We present an $\it{ab}$ $\it{initio}$ calculation of the exchange coupling for Fe/Nb multilayers using the self-consistent full-potential linearized augmented-plane wave (FLAPW) method. The exchange correlation potential has been treated in the local spin density approximation (LSDA) as well as generalized gradient approximation (GGA). We find that for the LSDA as well as the GGA the exchange coupling oscillates with a period of 6.0 Åof Nb spacer thickness which is close to the experimental value in the preasymptotic region. This is also close to the earlier calculated period (i.e. 4.5 Å) by augmented spherical wave (ASW) method. The LSDA shows antiferromagnetic coupling for 2 and 5 Nb monolayers (ML) but the GGA shows the ferromagnetic coupling for all Nb spacer layers. The period of oscillation is found to be in good agreement with the period calculated using the Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida (RKKY) and quantum well (QW) models. The magnetic moment of Fe is found to be higher in the GGA than the LSDA. Fe magnetic moment also shows strong oscillations as a function of the spacer layer thickness, in agreement with the experimental results. We find that the GGA results show better agreement with the experiment than the LSDA results.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2003

Symmetry breaking and structural distortions in charged XH$_{4}$(X = C, Si, Ge, Sn and Pb) molecules

We have investigated the ground state structures of neutral and charged XH$_{4}$(X=C, Si, Ge, Sn and Pb) molecules using the first-principles electronic structure methods. The structure of positively charged molecules for X = Si, Ge, Sn and Pb is characterized by a severe distortion from tetrahedral structure and an unusual H-H bond while the negatively charged molecules get distorted by pushing two hydrogen atoms away from each other. However, CH$_{4}$$^{+}$ and CH$_{4}$$^{-}$ are exceptions to this behavior. We provide an insight into the symmetry breaking mechanism and unusual H-H bonding using simple electrostatic arguments based on the unequal charge distribution on H atoms. Those charged molecules having unequal charge distribution on H atoms get distorted due to different electrostatic forces between the atoms. We show that the directionality and occupation of the highest occupied molecular orbital(HOMO) play an important role in creating charge asymmetry in these molecules.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2001

Effect of hydrogen on ground state structures of small silicon clusters

We present results for ground state structures of small Si$_{n}$H (2 \leq \emph{n} \leq 10) clusters using the Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics. In particular, we focus on how the addition of a hydrogen atom affects the ground state geometry, total energy and the first excited electronic level gap of an Si$_{n}$ cluster. We discuss the nature of bonding of hydrogen in these clusters. We find that hydrogen bonds with two silicon atoms only in Si$_{2}$H, Si$_{3}$H and Si$_{5}$H clusters, while in other clusters (i.e. Si$_{4}$H, Si$_{6}$H, Si$_{7}$H, Si$_{8}$H, Si$_{9}$H and Si$_{10}$H) hydrogen is bonded to only one silicon atom. Also in the case of a compact and closed silicon cluster hydrogen bonds to the cluster from outside. We find that the first excited electronic level gap of Si$_{n}$ and Si$_{n}$H fluctuates as a function of size and this may provide a first principles basis for the short-range potential fluctuations in hydrogenated amorphous silicon. Our results show that the addition of a single hydrogen can cause large changes in the electronic structure of a silicon cluster, though the geometry is not much affected. Our calculation of the lowest energy fragmentation products of Si$_{n}$H clusters shows that hydrogen is easily removed from Si$_{n}$H clusters.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗