arXiv subjects

R. T. Senger

Publications and source records attributed to R. T. Senger.

18 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2018

Directed Growth of Hydrogen Lines on Graphene: High Throughput Simulations Powered by Evolutionary Algorithm

We set up an evolutionary algorithm combined with density functional tight-binding (DFTB) calculations to investigate hydrogen adsorption on flat graphene and graphene monolayers curved over substrate steps. During the evolution, candidates for the new generations are created by adsorption of an additional hydrogen atom to the stable configurations of the previous generation, where a mutation mechanism is also incorporated. Afterwards a two-stage selection procedure is employed. Selected candidates act as the parents of the next generation. In curved graphene, the evolution follows a similar path except for a new mechanism, which aligns hydrogen atoms on the line of minimum curvature. The mechanism is due to the increased chemical reactivity of graphene along the minimum radius of curvature line (MRCL) and to sp$^3$ bond angles being commensurate with the kinked geometry of hydrogenated graphene at the substrate edge. As a result, the reaction barrier is reduced considerably along the MRCL, and hydrogenation continues like a mechanical chain reaction. This growth mechanism enables lines of hydrogen atoms along the MRCL, which has the potential to overcome substrate or rippling effects and could make it possible to define edges or nanoribbons without actually cutting the material.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2018

Strain Mapping In Single-Layer 2D Crystals Via Raman Activity

By performing density functional theory-based ab-initio calculations, Raman active phonon modes of novel single-layer two-dimensional (2D) materials and the effect of in-plane biaxial strain on the peak frequencies and corresponding activities of the Raman active modes are calculated. Our findings confirm the Raman spectrum of the unstrained 2D crystals and provide expected variations in the Raman active modes of the crystals under in-plane biaxial strain. The results are summarized as follows; (i) frequencies of the phonon modes soften (harden) under applied tensile (compressive) strains, (ii) the response of the Raman activities to applied strain for the in-plane and out-of-plane vibrational modes have opposite trends, thus, the built-in strains in the materials can be monitored by tracking the relative activities of those modes, (iii) in particular, the A-peak in single-layer Si and Ge disappear under a critical tensile strain, (iv) especially in mono and di- atomic single-layers, the shift of the peak frequencies is stronger indication of the strain rather than the change in Raman activities, (v) Raman active modes of single-layer ReX 2 (X=S, Se) are almost irresponsive to the applied strain. Strain-induced modifications in the Raman spectrum of 2D materials in terms of the peak positions and the relative Raman activities of the modes could be a convenient tool for characterization.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2017

$h$-AlN-Mg(OH)$_{2}$ vdW Bilayer Heterostructure: Tuning the excitonic characteristics

Motivated by recent studies that reported the successful synthesis of monolayer Mg(OH)$_{2}$ [Suslu \textit{et al.}, Sci. Rep. \textbf{6}, 20525 (2016)] and hexagonal (\textit{h}-)AlN [Tsipas \textit{et al}., Appl. Phys. Lett. \textbf{103}, 251605 (2013)], we investigate structural, electronic, and optical properties of vertically stacked $h$-AlN and Mg(OH)$_{2}$, through \textit{ab initio} density-functional theory (DFT), many-body quasi-particle calculations within the GW approximation, and the Bethe-Salpeter equation (BSE). It is obtained that the bilayer heterostructure prefers the $AB^{\prime}$ stacking having direct band gap at the $Γ$ with Type-II band alignment in which the valance band maximum and conduction band minimum originate from different layer. Regarding the optical properties, the imaginary part of the dielectric function of the individual layers and hetero-bilayer are investigated. The hetero-bilayer possesses excitonic peaks which appear only after the construction of the hetero-bilayer. The lowest three exciton peaks are detailedly analyzed by means of band decomposed charge density and the oscillator strength. Furthermore, the wave function calculation shows that the first peak of the hetero-bilayer originates from spatially indirect exciton where the electron and hole localized at $h$-AlN and Mg(OH)$_{2}$, respectively, which is important for the light harvesting applications.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Quantum Transport Characteristics of Lateral pn-Junction of Single Layer TiS3

Using density functional theory and nonequilibrium Greens functions-based methods we investigated the electronic and transport properties of monolayer TiS3 pn-junction. We constructed a lateral pn-junction in monolayer TiS3 by using Li and F adatoms. An applied bias voltage caused significant variability in the electronic and transport properties of the TiS3 pn-junction. In addition, spin dependent current-voltage characteristics of the constructed TiS3 pn-junction were analyzed. Important device characteristics were found such as negative differential resistance and rectifying diode behaviors for spin-polarized currents in the TiS3 pn-junction. These prominent conduction properties of TiS3 pn-junction offer remarkable opportunities for the design of nanoelectronic devices based on a recently synthesized single-layered material.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Mg(OH)2 -WS2 Heterobilayer: Electric Field Tunable Bandgap Crossover

Magnesium hydroxide (Mg(OH)2) has a layered brucite-like structure in its bulk form and was recently isolated as a new member of 2D monolayer materials. We investigated the electronic and optical properties of monolayer crystals of Mg(OH)2 and WS2 and their possible heterobilayer structure by means of first principles calculations. It was found that both monolayers of Mg(OH)2 and WS 2 are direct-gap semiconductors and these two monolayers form a typical van der Waals heterostructure with a weak interlayer interaction and a type-II band alignment with a staggered gap that spatially seperates electrons and holes. We also showed that an out-of-plane electric field induces a transition from a staggered to a straddling type heterojunction. Moreover, by solving the Bethe-Salpeter equation on top of single shot G0 W0 calculations, we show that the oscillator strength of the intralayer excitons of the heterostructure is an order of magnitude larger than the oscillator strength of the interlayer excitons. Because of the staggered interfacial gap and the field- tunable energy band structure, the Mg(OH)2 -WS2 heterobilayer can become an important candidate for various optoelectronic device applications in nanoscale.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Computing Optical Properties of Ultra-thin Crystals

An overview is given of recent advances in experimental and theoretical understanding of optical properties of ultra-thin crystal structures (graphene, phosphorene, silicene, MoS2, MoSe2 , WS2 , WSe2 , h-AlN, h-BN, fluorographene, graphane). Ultra-thin crystals are atomically-thick layered crystals that have unique properties which differ from their 3D counterpart. Because of the difficulties in the synthesis of few-atom-thick crystal structures, which are thought to be the main building blocks of future nanotechnology, reliable theoretical predictions of their electronic, vibrational and optical properties are of great importance. Recent studies revealed the reliable predictive power of existing theoretical approaches based on density functional theory (DFT).

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Bilayer SnS$_{2}$: Easy-tunable Stacking Sequence by Charging and Loading Pressure

Employing density functional theory-based methods, we investigate monolayer and bilayer structures of hexagonal SnS$_{2}$, which is recently synthesized monolayer metal dichalcogenide. Comparison of 1H and 1T phases of monolayer SnS$_{2}$ confirms the ground state to be the 1T phase. In its bilayer structure we examine different stacking configurations of the two layers. It is found that the interlayer coupling in bilayer SnS$_{2}$ is weaker than that of typical transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) so that alternative stacking orders have similar structural parameters and they are separated with low energy barriers. Possible signature of the stacking order in SnS$_{2}$ bilayer has been sought in the calculated absorbance and reflectivity spectra. We also study the effects of the external electric field, charging, and loading pressure on the characteristic properties of bilayer SnS$_{2}$. It is found that (i) the electric field increases the coupling between the layers at its prefered stacking order, so the barrier height increases, (ii) the bang gap value can be tuned by the external E-field and under sufficient E-field, the bilayer SnS$_{2}$ can become semi-metal, (iii) the most favorable stacking order can be switched by charging and (iv) a loading pressure exceeding 3 GPa changes the stacking order. E-field tunable bandgap and easy-tunable stacking sequence of SnS$_{2}$ layers make this 2D crystal structure a good candidate for field effect transistor and nanoscale lubricant applications.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2015

Pentagonal Monolayer Crystals of Carbon, Boron Nitride, and Silver Azide

In this study we present a theoretical investigation of structural, electronic and mechanical properties of pentagonal monolayers of carbon (p-graphene), boron nitride (p-B$_{2}$N$_{4}$ and p-B$_{4}$N$_{2}$) and silver azide (p-AgN$_{3}$) by performing state-of-the-art first principles calculations. Our total energy calculations suggest feasible formation of monolayer crystal structures composed entirely of pentagons. In addition, electronic band dispersion calculations indicate that while p-graphene and p-AgN$_{3}$ are semiconductors with indirect bandgaps, p-BN structures display metallic behavior. We also investigate the mechanical properties (in-plane stiffness and the Poisson's ratio) of four different pentagonal structures under uniaxial strain. p-graphene is found to have the highest stiffness value and the corresponding Poisson's ratio is found to be negative. Similarly, p-B$_{2}$N$_{4}$ and p-B$_{4}$N$_{2}$ have negative Poisson's ratio values. On the other hand, the p-AgN$_{3}$ has a large and positive Poisson's ratio. In dynamical stability tests based on calculated phonon spectra of these pentagonal monolayers, we find that only p-graphene and p-B$_{2}$N$_{4}$ are stable, but p-AgN$_{3}$ and p-B$_{4}$N$_{2}$ are vulnerable against vibrational excitations.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2015

Electronic and Magnetic Properties of 1T-TiSe2 Nanoribbons

Motivated by the recent synthesis of single layer TiSe2 , we used state-of-the-art density functional theory calculations, to investigate the structural and electronic properties of zigzag and armchair- edged nanoribbons of this material. Our analysis reveals that, differing from ribbons of other ultra-thin materials such as graphene, TiSe2 nanoribbons have some distinctive properties. The electronic band gap of the nanoribbons decreases exponentially with the width and vanishes for ribbons wider than 20 Angstroms. For ultranarrow zigzag-edged nanoribbons we find odd-even oscillations in the band gap width, although their band structures show similar features. Moreover, our detailed magnetic-ground-state analysis reveals that zigzag and armchair edged ribbons have nonmagnetic ground states. Passivating the dangling bonds with hydrogen at the edges of the structures influences the band dispersion. Our results shed light on the characteristic properties of T phase nanoribbons of similar crystal structures.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2015

Ag and Au Atoms Intercalated in Bilayer Heterostructures of Transition Metal Dichalcogenides and Graphene

The diffusive motion of metal nanoparticles Au and Ag on monolayer and between bilayer heterostructures of transition metal dichalcogenides and graphene are investigated in the framework of density functional theory. We found that the minimum energy barriers for diffusion and the possibility of cluster formation depend strongly on both the type of nanoparticle and the type of monolayers and bilayers. Moreover, the tendency to form clusters of Ag and Au can be tuned by creating various bilayers. Tunability of the diffusion characteristics of adatoms in van der Waals heterostructures holds promise for controllable growth of nanostructures.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2015

Vacancy Formation and Oxidation Characteristics of Single Layer TiS3

The structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of pristine, defective, and oxidized monolayer TiS3 are investigated using first-principles calculations in the framework of density functional theory. We found that a single layer of TiS3 is a direct band gap semiconductor, and the bonding nature of the crystal is fundamentally different from other transition metal chalcogenides. The negatively charged surfaces of single layer TiS3 makes this crystal a promising material for lubrication applications. The formation energies of possible vacancies, i.e. S, Ti, TiS, and double S, are investigated via total energy optimization calculations. We found that the formation of a single S vacancy was the most likely one among the considered vacancy types. While a single S vacancy results in a nonmagnetic, semiconducting character with an enhanced band gap, other vacancy types induce metallic behavior with spin polarization of 0.3-0.8 μB. The reactivity of pristine and defective TiS3 crystals against oxidation was investigated using conjugate gradient calculations where we considered the interaction with atomic O, O2, and O3. While O2 has the lowest binding energy with 0.05-0.07 eV, O3 forms strong bonds stable even at moderate temperatures. The strong interaction (3.9-4.0 eV) between atomic O and TiS3 results in dissociative adsorption of some O-containing molecules. In addition, the presence of S-vacancies enhances the reactivity of the surface with atomic O, whereas it had a negative effect on the reactivity with O2 and O3 molecules.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2015

Hexagonal AlN: Dimensional-Crossover-Driven Bandgap Transition

Motivated by a recent experiment that reported the successful synthesis of hexagonal (h) AlN [Tsipas et al. Appl. Phys. Lett. 103, 251605 (2013)] we investigate structural, electronic and vibrational properties of bulk, bilayer and monolayer structures of h-AlN by using first-principles calculations. We show that the hexagonal phase of the bulk h-AlN is a stable direct-bandgap semiconductor. Calculated phonon spectrum displays a rigid-layer shear mode at 274 cm-1 and an Eg mode at 703 cm-1 which are observable by Raman measurements. In addition, single layer h-AlN is an indirect-bandgap semiconductor with a nonmagnetic ground state. For the bilayer structure, AA' type stacking is found to be the most favorable one and interlayer interaction is strong. While N-layered h-AlN is an indirect bandgap semiconductor for N=1-10, we predict that thicker structures (N>10) have a direct-bandgap at the Gamma-point. The number-of-layer-dependent bandgap transitions in h-AlN is interesting in that it is significantly different from the indirect-to- direct crossover obtained in the transition metal dichalcogenides.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2009

Monolayer honeycomb structures of group IV elements and III-V binary compounds

Using first-principles plane wave calculations, we investigate two dimensional honeycomb structure of Group IV elements and their binary compounds, as well as the compounds of Group III-V elements. Based on structure optimization and phonon mode calculations, we determine that 22 different honeycomb materials are stable and correspond to local minima on the Born-Oppenheimer surface. We also find that all the binary compounds containing one of the first row elements, B, C or N have planar stable structures. On the other hand, in the honeycomb structures of Si, Ge and other binary compounds the alternating atoms of hexagons are buckled, since the stability is maintained by puckering. For those honeycomb materials which were found stable, we calculated optimized structures, cohesive energies, phonon modes, electronic band structures, effective cation and anion charges, and some elastic constants. The band gaps calculated within Density Functional Theory using Local Density Approximation are corrected by GW0 method. Si and Ge in honeycomb structure are semimetal and have linear band crossing at the Fermi level which attributes massless Fermion character to charge carriers as in graphene. However, all binary compounds are found to be semiconductor with band gaps depending on the constituent atoms. We present a method to reveal elastic constants of 2D honeycomb structures from the strain energy and calculate the Poisson's ratio as well as in-plane stiffness values. Preliminary results show that the nearly lattice matched heterostructures of ...

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2006

Monte-Carlo simulation of localization dynamics of excitons in ZnO and CdZnO quantum well structures

Localization dynamics of excitons was studied for ZnO/MgZnO and CdZnO/MgZnO quantum wells (QW). The experimental photoluminescence (PL) and absorption data were compared with the results of Monte Carlo simulation in which the excitonic hopping was modeled. The temperature-dependent PL linewidth and Stokes shift were found to be in a qualitatively reasonable agreement with the hopping model, with accounting for an additional inhomogeneous broadening for the case of linewidth. The density of localized states used in the simulation for the CdZnO QW was consistent with the absorption spectrum taken at 5 K.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2005

Ab-initio electron transport calculations of carbon based string structures

First-principles calculations show that monatomic strings of carbon have high cohesive energy and axial strength, and exhibit stability even at high temperatures. Due to their flexibility and reactivity, carbon chains are suitable for structural and chemical functionalizations; they form also stable ring, helix, grid and network structures. Analysis of electronic conductance of various infinite, finite and doped string structures reveal fundamental and technologically interesting features. Changes in doping and geometry give rise to dramatic variations in conductance. In even-numbered linear chains strain induces substantial decrease of conductance. The double covalent bonding of carbon atoms underlies their unusual chemical, mechanical and transport properties.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2005

Chiral single-wall gold nanotubes

Based on first-principles calculations we show that gold atoms can form both free-standing and tip-suspended chiral single-wall nanotubes composed of helical atomic strands. Free-standing, infinite (5,5) tube is found to be energetically the most favorable. While energetically less favorable, the experimentally observed (5,3) tube stretching between two tips corresponds to a local minimum in the string tension. Similarly, the (4,3) tube is predicted as a favorable structure yet to be observed experimentally. Analysis of band structure, charge density, and quantum ballistic conductance suggests that the current on these wires is less chiral than expected, and there is no direct correlation between the numbers of conduction channels and helical strands.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2005

Half-metallic properties of atomic chains of carbon-transition metal compounds

We found that magnetic ground state of one-dimensional atomic chains of carbon-transition metal compounds exhibit half-metallic properties. They are semiconductors for one spin-direction, but show metallic properties for the opposite direction. The spins are fully polarized at the Fermi level and net magnetic moment per unit cell is an integer multiple of Bohr magneton. The spin-dependent electronic structure can be engineered by changing the number of carbon and type of transition metal atoms. These chains, which are stable even at high temperature and some of which keep their spin-dependent electronic properties even under moderate axial strain, hold the promise of potential applications in nanospintronics.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2001

Energy-transfer rate in a double-quantum-well system due to Coulomb coupling

We study the energy-transfer rate for electrons in a double-quantum-well structure, where the layers are coupled through screened Coulomb interactions. The energy-transfer rate between the layers (similar to the Coulomb drag effect in which the momentum transfer rate is considered) is calculated as functions of electron densities, interlayer spacing, the temperature difference of the 2DEGs, and the electron drift velocity in the drive layer. We employ the full wave vector and frequency dependent random-phase approximation at finite temperature to describe the effective interlayer Coulomb interaction. We find that the collective modes (plasmons) of the system play a dominant role in the energy transfer rates. The contribution of optical phonons to the transfer rates through the phonon mediated Coulomb coupling mechanism has also been considered.

cond-mat↗