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At least 181 records · Page 10
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2016

First principles calculations of point defect diffusion in CdS buffer layers: Implications for Cu(In,Ga)(Se,S){sub 2} and Cu{sub 2}ZnSn(Se,S){sub 4}-based thin-film photovoltaics

We investigate point defects in CdS buffer layers that may arise from intermixing with Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} (CIGSe) or Cu{sub 2}ZnSn(S,Se){sub 4} (CZTSSe) absorber layers in thin-film photovoltaics (PV). Using hybrid functional calculations, we characterize the migration barriers of Cu, In, Ga, Se, Sn, Zn, Na, and K impurities and assess the activation energies necessary for their diffusion into the bulk of the buffer. We find that Cu, In, and Ga are the most mobile defects in CIGS-derived impurities, with diffusion expected to proceed into the buffer via interstitial-hopping and cadmium vacancy-assisted mechanisms at temperatures ∼400 °C. Cu is predicted to strongly favor migration paths within the basal plane of the wurtzite CdS lattice, which may facilitate defect clustering and ultimately the formation of Cu-rich interfacial phases as observed by energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopic elemental maps in real PV devices. Se, Zn, and Sn defects are found to exhibit much larger activation energies and are not expected to diffuse within the CdS bulk at temperatures compatible with typical PV processing temperatures. Lastly, we find that Na interstitials are expected to exhibit slightly lower activation energies than K interstitials despite having a larger migration barrier. Still, we find both alkali species are expected to diffuse via an interstitially mediated mechanism at slightly higher temperatures than enable In, Ga, and Cu diffusion in the bulk. Our results indicate that processing temperatures in excess of ∼400 °C will lead to more interfacial intermixing with CdS buffer layers in CIGSe devices, and less so for CZTSSe absorbers where only Cu is expected to significantly diffuse into the buffer.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

The high pressure structure and equation of state of 2,6-diamino-3,5-dinitropyrazine-1-oxide (LLM-105) up to 20 GPa: X-ray diffraction measurements and first principles molecular dynamics simulations

Recent theoretical studies of 2,6-diamino-3,5-dinitropyrazine-1-oxide (C{sub 4}H{sub 4}N{sub 6}O{sub 5} Lawrence Livermore Molecule No. 105, LLM-105) report unreacted high pressure equations of state that include several structural phase transitions, between 8 and 50 GPa, while one published experimental study reports equation of state (EOS) data up to a pressure of 6 GPa with no observed transition. Here we report the results of a synchrotron-based X-ray diffraction study and also ambient temperature isobaric-isothermal atomistic molecular dynamics simulations of LLM-105 up to 20 GPa. We find that the ambient pressure phase remains stable up to 20 GPa; there is no indication of a pressure induced phase transition. We do find a prominent decrease in b-axis compressibility starting at approximately 13 GPa and attribute the stiffening to a critical length where inter-sheet distance becomes similar to the intermolecular distance within individual sheets. The ambient temperature isothermal equation of state was determined through refinements of measured X-ray diffraction patterns. The pressure-volume data were fit using various EOS models to yield bulk moduli with corresponding pressure derivatives. We find very good agreement between the experimental and theoretically derived EOS.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2025

Bayesian prior construction for uncertainty quantification in first-principles statistical mechanics

First-principles statistical mechanics enables the prediction of thermodynamic and kinetic properties of materials, but is computationally expensive. Many approaches require surrogate models to calculate energies within Monte Carlo or molecular dynamics simulations. Inexpensive surrogates such as cluster expansions enable otherwise intractable calculations by interpolating data from higher accuracy methods, such as Density Functional Theory (DFT). Surrogate models introduce uncertainty into downstream calculations, in addition to any uncertainty inherent to DFT calculations. Bayesian frameworks address this by quantifying uncertainty and incorporating expert knowledge through priors. However, constructing effective priors remains challenging. This work introduces and describes practical strategies for building Bayesian cluster expansions, focusing on basis truncation, hyperparameter selection, and ground state replication. We analyze multiple basis truncation schemes, compare cross-validation to the evidence-approximation for hyperparameter optimization, and provide methods to find and enforce ground-state-preserving models through priors. Additionally, we compare the uncertainties between different approximations to DFT (LDA, PBE, SCAN) against the uncertainty introduced with the use of cluster expansion surrogate models. These approaches are demonstrated on the BCC Li x Mg 1-x and Li x Al 1-x alloys, which are both of interest for solid-state Li batteries. Our results provide guidelines for constructing and utilizing Bayesian cluster expansions, thereby improving the transparency of materials modeling. Furthermore, the approaches and insights developed in this work can be transferred to a wide range of cluster expansion surrogate models, including the atomic cluster expansion and related machine-learned interatomic potential architectures.

Alloy theory↗
DOE OSTI2025

Optical properties of vacancies in aluminum oxide (𝛼−Al 2 ⁢O 3 ) from first principles

We employ first-principles calculations based on hybrid density functional theory to investigate the structural and optical properties of the oxygen vacancy (𝑉 O ) and aluminum vacancy (𝑉 Al ) in 𝛼−Al 2 ⁢O 3 , the most stable (corundum) phase of alumina. Our calculations facilitate the identification of experimental excitation and luminescence spectra with specific electronic transitions at the vacancy sites. The absorption line shape for excitation of an electron at 𝑉$^0_O$ to the conduction-band minimum (CBM) is in excellent agreement with the 6.1 eV band detected by optical absorption spectroscopy, and we find that the 5.9 eV absorption band is generated by an internal electron transition at 𝑉$^0_O$. We confirm that the slowly decaying 3.0 eV emission band of the 𝐹 center is due to a triplet-singlet transition at 𝑉$^0_O$. Our calculations also reveal that the 4.8 eV/5.4 eV absorption and 3.8 eV emission bands assigned to the 𝐹 + center are generated by internal transitions at 𝑉$^{+1}_O$. The line shape for the excitation of an electron from 𝑉$^{+1}_O$ to the CBM agrees well with an absorption band at 6.4 eV, while the recombination of an electron with 𝑉$^{+2}_O$ also produces luminescence around 3.8 eV, but with a considerably broader line shape. For Al vacancies, we confirm that the most prevalent configuration in 𝛼−Al 2 ⁢O 3 is a split-vacancy configuration 𝑉 Al,s , and we calculate migration barriers for different directions in the corundum crystal. We predict absorption and emission spectra for the excitation and recombination of an electron localized at 𝑉$^{−3}_{Al}$ and 𝑉$^{−3}_{Al,s}$ sites with the CBM. The line shapes of the two 𝑉 Al configurations overlap and are considerably broader than the spectra corresponding to 𝑉 O .

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Improving accuracy of electrochemical capacitance and solvation energetics in first-principles calculations

Here, reliable first-principles calculations of electrochemical processes require accurate prediction of the interfacial capacitance, a challenge for current computationally efficient continuum solvation methodologies. We develop a model for the double layer of a metallic electrode that reproduces the features of the experimental capacitance of Ag(100) in a non-adsorbing, aqueous electrolyte, including a broad hump in the capacitance near the potential of zero charge and a dip in the capacitance under conditions of low ionic strength. Using this model, we identify the necessary characteristics of a solvation model suitable for first-principles electrochemistry of metal surfaces in non-adsorbing, aqueous electrolytes: dielectric and ionic nonlinearity, and a dielectric-only region at the interface. The dielectric nonlinearity, caused by the saturation of dipole rotational response in water, creates the capacitance hump, while ionic nonlinearity, caused by the compactness of the diffuse layer, generates the capacitance dip seen at low ionic strength. We show that none of the previously developed solvation models simultaneously meet all these criteria. We design the nonlinear electrochemical soft-sphere solvation model which both captures the capacitance features observed experimentally and serves as a general-purpose continuum solvation model.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2014

Waltzing of a helium pair in tungsten: Migration barrier and trajectory revealed from first-principles

Despite well documented first-principles theoretical determination of the low migration energy (0.06 eV) of a single He in tungsten, fully quantum mechanical calculations on the migration of a He pair still present a challenge due to the complexity of its trajectory. By identifying the six most stable configurations of the He pair in W and decomposing its motion into rotational, translational, and rotational-translational routines, we are able to determine its migration barrier and trajectory. Our density functional theory calculations demonstrate a He pair has three modes of motion: a close or open circular two-dimensional motion in (100) plane with an energy barrier of 0.30 eV, a snaking motion along [001] direction with a barrier of 0.30 eV, and a twisted-ladder motion along [010] direction with the two He swinging in the plane (100) and a barrier of 0.31 eV. The graceful associative movements of a He pair are related to the chemical-bonding-like He-He interaction being much stronger than its migration barrier in W. The excellent agreement with available experimental measurements (0.24–0.32 eV) on He migration makes our first-principles result a solid input to obtain accurate He-W interatomic potentials in molecular dynamics simulations.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Effects of cluster expansion on the locations of phase transition boundary as a first step to quantify uncertainty in first principles statistical mechanics framework

Predicting phase diagrams from first principle calculations eliminates the need of tedious experimental trials and errors. Fully automating first principle phase diagram calculations without any sort of human intervention has been a long daunting task and troubling scientific communities for decades. This grand problem remains not fully resolved, largely due to the vastly high-dimensional parameter space associated with density functional theory, cluster expansion, lattice Monte Carlo, and the substantial uncertainty propagating through a set of complex simulations. As a first step to tackle this grand problem, we reported a first demonstration of how sensitive phase boundary locations can be to various cluster expansion fittings and input DFT training data. To the best knowledge of the authors, this study reported the first ever attempt to quantify uncertainty in first principles statistical mechanics framework. In addition, a semi-automated phase transition detection algorithm has been devised in this paper to deal with the associated statistical errors and uncertainties from Monte Carlo method and its predecessor DFT calculations and cluster expansions. This algorithm has been applied in a classical cluster expansion Mg-Cd binary alloy system to detect phase transitions at various locations of phase diagram using different cluster expansions to demonstrate its predictive power and quantify uncertainties. The results suggested that using Chebyshev basis function shifted the transition locations toward the dilute solid solution phase and expanded the phase stability of concentrated ordered phases to wider composition range. The addition of perturbed defect configurations into training data set lowered the order-disorder transition temperature to be away from true transition temperature, suggesting the transition nature is indeed configurational disorder dominated rather than defect assisted. Finally, we found that the weighting has negligible effect on the transition locations, except for the case of using Chebyshev basis function to fit all non-weighted configurations that can be susceptible to Monte Carlo sampling hysteresis.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Importance of charge self-consistency in first-principles description of strongly correlated systems

First-principles approaches have been successful in solving many-body Hamiltonians for real materials to an extent when correlations are weak or moderate. As the electronic correlations become stronger often embedding methods based on first-principles approaches are used to better treat the correlations by solving a suitably chosen many-body Hamiltonian with a higher level theory. The success of such embedding theories, often referred to as second-principles, is commonly measured by the quality of self-energy Σ which is either a function of energy or momentum or both. However, Σ should, in principle, also modify the electronic eigenfunctions and thus change the real space charge distribution. While such practices are not prevalent, some works that use embedding techniques do take into account these effects. In such cases, choice of partitioning, of the parameters defining the correlated Hamiltonian, of double-counting corrections, and the adequacy of low-level Hamiltonian hosting the correlated subspace hinder a systematic and unambiguous understanding of such effects. Further, for a large variety of correlated systems, strong correlations are largely confined to the charge sector. Then an adequate nonlocal low-order theory is important, and the high-order local correlations embedding contributes become redundant. Here we study the impact of charge self-consistency within two example cases, TiSe 2 and CrBr 3 , and show how real space charge re-distribution due to correlation effects taken into account within a first-principles Green’s function-based many-body perturbative approach is key in driving qualitative changes to the final electronic structure of these materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Magnetotransport in semiconductors and two-dimensional materials from first principles

Here we demonstrate a first-principles method to study magnetotransport in materials by solving the Boltzmann transport equation (BTE) in the presence of an external magnetic field. Our approach employs ab initio electron-phonon interactions and takes spin-orbit coupling into account. We apply our method to various semiconductors (Si and GaAs) and two-dimensional (2D) materials (graphene) as representative case studies. The magnetoresistance, Hall mobility, and Hall factor in Si and GaAs are in very good agreement with experiments. In graphene, our method predicts a large magnetoresistance, consistent with experiments. Analysis of the steady-state electron occupations in graphene shows the dominant role of optical phonon scattering and the breaking of the relaxation time approximation. Our paper provides a detailed understanding of the microscopic mechanisms governing magnetotransport coefficients, establishing the BTE in a magnetic field as a broadly applicable first-principles tool to investigate transport in semiconductors and 2D materials.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2018

Comparative Study on the Charge-Ordered and Mixed-Valence Phases of LuFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} via First-Principles Calculations

The first-principles density functional theory calculations have been used to investigate the relation between magnetic and structural properties of LuFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} for both the charge-ordered (CO) and the mixed-valence (MV) phases and also to compare the electronic properties for both phases. The computed structural parameters of rhombohedral and monoclinic systems are found to be in good agreement with experimental findings. An analysis of the magnetic properties is provided considering nonmagnetic, ferromagnetic, antiferromagnetic, and ferrimagnetic model orderings. In agreement with experimental results, CO modification of LuFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} is predicted to be ferrimagnetic. The GGA + U electronic structures show a semiconducting behavior of CO phase while a metallic character for MV LuFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} phase.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2013

Phase stability, mechanical properties, hardness, and possible reactive routing of chromium triboride from first-principle investigations

The first-principles calculations are employed to provide a fundamental understanding of the structural features and relative stability, mechanical and electronic properties, and possible reactive route for chromium triboride. The predicted new phase of CrB{sub 3} belongs to the rhombohedral phase with R-3m symmetry and it transforms into a hexagonal phase with P-6m2 symmetry at 64 GPa. The mechanical and thermodynamic stabilities of CrB{sub 3} are verified by the calculated elastic constants and formation enthalpies. Also, the full phonon dispersion calculations confirm the dynamic stability of predicted CrB{sub 3}. Considering the role of metallic contributions, the calculated hardness values from our semiempirical method for rhombohedral and hexagonal phases are 23.8 GPa and 22.1 GPa, respectively. In addition, the large shear moduli, Young's moduli, low Poisson's ratios, and small B/G ratios indicate that they are potential hard materials. Relative enthalpy calculations with respect to possible constituents are also investigated to assess the prospects for phase formation and an attempt at high-pressure synthesis is suggested to obtain chromium triboride.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2014

Electronic and magnetic properties of double perovskite Dy{sub 2}MnCoO{sub 6} by first-principles calculation

Using first-principles calculation, we investigate electronic and magnetic properties of Dy{sub 2}MnCoO{sub 6}. A detailed structural optimization has been done and found that the orthorhombic structure with Mn (Co) ions aligning along the longest axis type is the most stable structure. Within the generalized gradient approximation, the spin polarized calculations predict Dy{sub 2}MnCoO{sub 6} to be a half-metallic with ferromagnetic interaction between Mn and Co ions and antiferromagnetic interaction between Dy and Mn/Co ions. We also investigate the effect of Hubbard parameter (U) on the ground state magnetic structure. For all values of Hubbard U parameter the Co ions have nonzero magnetic moment; they do not lie in low-spin state, as in DyCoO{sub 3}.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Nitrogen diffusion in hafnia and the impact of nitridation on oxygen and hydrogen diffusion: A first-principles study

Using first-principles simulations, we have computed incorporation energies and diffusion barriers of ammonia, the nitrogen molecule and atomic nitrogen in monoclinic hafnia (m-HfO{sub 2}). Our calculations show that ammonia is likely to dissociate into an NH{sub 2} molecular unit, whereas the nitrogen molecule remains as a molecule either in the interstitial space or at an oxygen lattice site. The lowest energy pathway for the diffusion of atomic nitrogen interstitials consists of the hopping of the nitrogen interstitial between neighboring three-coordinated lattice oxygen atoms that share a single Hf atom, and the barrier for such hops is determined by a switching mechanism. The substitutional nitrogen atom shows a preference for diffusion through the doubly positive oxygen vacancy-mediated mechanism. Furthermore, we have investigated the impact of nitrogen atoms on the diffusion barriers of oxygen and hydrogen interstitials in m-HfO{sub 2}. Our results show that nitrogen incorporation has a significant impact on the barriers for oxygen and hydrogen diffusion: nitrogen atoms attract oxygen and hydrogen interstitials diffusing in the vicinity, thereby slowing down (reducing) their diffusion (diffusion length)

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

On the influence of tetrahedral covalent-hybridization on electronic band structure of topological insulators from first principles

Based on first-principles calculations, we investigate the influence of tetrahedral covalent-hybridization between main-group and transition-metal atoms on the topological band structures of binary HgTe and ternary half-Heusler compounds, respectively. Results show that, for the binary HgTe, when its zinc-blend structure is artificially changed to rock-salt one, the tetrahedral covalent-hybridization will be removed and correspondingly the topologically insulating band character lost. While for the ternary half-Heusler system, the strength of covalent-hybridization can be tuned by varying both chemical compositions and atomic arrangements, and the competition between tetrahedral and octahedral covalent-hybridization has been discussed in details. As a result, we found that a proper strength of tetrahedral covalent-hybridization is probably in favor to realizing the topologically insulating state with band inversion occurring at the Γ point of the Brillouin zone.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Structural stability and electronic properties of InSb nanowires: A first-principles study

Using first-principles calculations, we investigate the structural stability and electronic properties of InSb nanowires (NWs). The results show that, in contrast to the bulk InSb phase, wurtzite (WZ) NWs are more stable than zinc-blende (ZB) NWs when the NW diameter is smaller than 10 nm. Nonpassivated ZB and WZ NWs are found to be metallic and semiconducting, respectively. After passivation, both ZB and WZ NWs exhibit direct-gap semiconductor character, and the band gap magnitude of the NWs strongly depends on the suppression of surface states by the charge-compensation ability of foreign atoms to surface atoms. Moreover, the carrier mobility of the NW can be strengthened by halogen passivation.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Compositional bowing of band energies and their deformation potentials in strained InGaAs ternary alloys: A first-principles study

Using first-principles calculations, we show that the conduction and valence band energies and their deformation potentials exhibit a non-negligible compositional bowing in strained ternary semiconductor alloys such as InGaAs. The electronic structure of these compounds has been calculated within the framework of local density approximation and hybrid functional approach for large cubic supercells and special quasi-random structures, which represent two kinds of model structures for random alloys. We find that the predicted bowing effect for the band energy deformation potentials is rather insensitive to the choice of the functional and alloy structural model. The direction of bowing is determined by In cations that give a stronger contribution to the formation of the In{sub x}Ga{sub 1−x}As valence band states with x ≳ 0.5, compared to Ga cations.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Structural, electronic properties and enhancement of electrical polarization in Er{sub 2}NiMnO{sub 6}/La{sub 2}NiMnO{sub 6} superlattice by first-principles calculations

Employing first-principles calculations, structural, electronic properties of new multiferroic material Er{sub 2}NiMnO{sub 6}/La{sub 2}NiMnO{sub 6} perovskite superlattice are investigated. This structure is computed as monoclinic phase with obvious distortion. The average in-plane anti-phase rotation angle, average out-of-plane in-phase rotation angle and other microscopic features are reported in this paper. Ni and Mn are found in this superlattice that stay high spin states. These microscopic properties play important roles in multiferroic properties. Based on these microscopic features, the relationship between the direction of spontaneous polarization and the order of substitution in neighboring A-O layers is explained. Finally, we try to enhance the electrical polarization magnitude by 32% by altering the previous superlattice as LaEr{sub 2}NiMnO{sub 7} structure. Our results show that both repulsion force of A site rare earth ions and the arrangement of B site ions can exert influences on spontaneous polarization.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2019

Ferroelectricity in [111]-oriented epitaxially strained SrTiO 3 from first principles

We use first-principles density-functional theory calculations to investigate the effect of biaxial strain in the low-temperature structural and ferroelectric properties of [111]-oriented SrTiO 3 . In this work we find that [111] biaxial strain, achievable by coherent epitaxial growth along the [111] direction, induces structural distortions in SrTiO 3 that are not present in either bulk or [001]-oriented SrTiO 3 . Under [111] biaxial strain, SrTiO 3 displays ferroelectricity at tensile strain, and paraelectricity at compressive strain. We compute the phonon spectrum and macroscopic polarization of SrTiO 3 as a function of [111] biaxial strain, and relate our results to the predictions of the free-energy phenomenological model of Pertsev, Tagantsev, and Setter

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗