Carrier Density Dependence of Superconducting Transition Temperature in Electron-doped SrTiO3 Based on the First-principles Calculations

Using first-principles calculations, we examine the transition temperature $T_{\rm c}$ of superconductivity in sodium tungsten bronze ( Na$_x$WO$_3$, where $x$ is equal to or less than unity ). Although $T_{\rm c}$ is relatively low $T_{\rm c}( <\sim 3 {\rm K})$, it is interesting that its characteristic exponential dependence on $x$ has been experimentally observed at $\sim 0.2 < x < \sim 0.4$. On the basis of the McMillan equation for $T_{\rm c}$ including the effect of plasmons, we succeed in reproducing the absolute values of $T_{\rm c}$ and its $x$ dependence. We also find that the plasmon effect is crucial for the estimation of $T_{\rm c}$ as well as phonons. Since the calculated $T_{\rm c}$ may not exceed $\sim 20$ K even for $x <\sim 0.1$, the superconductivity at a low $T_{\rm c}$ can be interpreted by the usual phonon mechanism, including the plasmon effect. On the other hand, a high $T_{\rm c}$ up to about 90 K, which is found on the surface of a Na$_x$WO$_3$ system at $x\sim 0.05$ by recent experiments, cannot be explained by our results. This discrepancy suggests that another mechanism is required to clarify the nature of the high-$T_{\rm c}$ superconductivity of Na$_x$WO$_3$.

Electronic properties of novel 6 K superconductor LiFeP in comparison with LiFeAs from first principles calculations

Electronic band structure of new “122” pnictogen-free superconductor SrPd 2Ge 2 as compared with SrNi 2Ge 2 and SrNi 2As 2 from first principles calculations

PbSe is a promising thermoelectric that can be further improved by nanostructuring, band engineering, and carrier concentration tuning; therefore, a firm understanding of the defects in PbSe is necessary. The formation energies of point defects in PbSe are computed via first-principles calculations under the dilute-limit approximation. We find that under Pb-rich conditions, PbSe is an n-type semiconductor dominated by doubly-charged Se vacancies. Conversely, under Se-rich conditions, PbSe is a p-type semiconductor dominated by doubly-charged Pb vacancies. Both of these results agree with previously performed experiments. Temperature- and chemical potential-dependent Fermi levels and carrier concentrations are found by enforcing the condition of charge neutrality across all charged atomic and electronic states in the system. The first-principles-predicted charge-carrier concentration is in qualitative agreement with experiment, but slightly varies in the magnitude of carriers. To better describe the experimental data, a CALPHAD assessment of PbSe is performed. Parameters determined via first-principles calculations are used as inputs to a five-sublattice CALPHAD model that was developed explicitly for binary semiconductors. This five sublattice model is in contrast to previous work which treated PbSe as a stoichiometric compound. The current treatment allows for experimental carrier concentrations to be accurately described within the CALPHAD formalism. In addition to the five-sublattice model, a two-sublattice model is also developed for use in multicomponent databases. Both models show excellent agreement with the experimental data and close agreement with first-principles calculations. These CALPHAD models can be used to determine processing parameters that will result in an optimized carrier concentration and peak zT value.

We predict that electron-doped silicene is a good two-dimensional electron-phonon superconductor under biaxial tensile strain by first-principles calculations within the rigid-band approximation. Superconductivity transition temperature of electron-doped silicene can be increased up to above 10 K by 5% tensile strain. Band structures, phonon dispersive relations, and Eliashberg functions are calculated for detailed analysis. The strong interaction between acoustic phonon modes normal to the silicene plane and the increasing electronic states around the Fermi level induced by tensile strain is mainly responsible for the enhanced critical temperature.

Electronic structures and transition temperatures of high-Tc cuprate superconductors from first-principles calculations and Landau theory

We report a comprehensive study of the electronic structure of layered compound $\mathrm{Ba}\mathrm{Cd}{\mathrm{Sb}}_{2}$ by using electrical transport measurements, first-principles calculations, and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). The samples show semiconductorlike temperature dependence of resistivity and low carrier density. The Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) oscillations with a single frequency reveal a small two-dimensional (2D) cylinderlike Fermi surface (FS), a light cyclotron effective mass, and trivial Berry's phase. Quantum limit can be achieved under a moderate magnetic field. The calculated bands without any renormalization are well consistent with the ARPES results, showing the Dirac band crossing with 2D character near the Fermi energy and a gap of about 34 meV at the Dirac point induced by spin-orbit interaction. The SdH oscillations can be identified to the Dirac band by the similar cross sectional areas of FSs. Our findings indicate $\mathrm{Ba}\mathrm{Cd}{\mathrm{Sb}}_{2}$ is a promising material for researching the quantum phenomena of the 2D Dirac fermions.

Semiempirical potentials for silicon, germanium, and their alloys are derived with use of the modified-embedded-atom-method formalism. Following Baskes [Phys. Rev. Lett. 59, 2666 (1987)], it is found that the host electron density which is a linear superposition of atomic densities in the embedded-atom method (EAM) must have an angular modification in order to properly describe the bond-bending forces in the diamond-cubic structure. The angular dependence of this host electron density was found to be in qualitative agreement with the density of a first-principles calculation. As in the EAM, the potential functions are determined by using the measured lattice constants, sublimation energies, elastic constants, and alloying energies of silicon and germanium. In addition, first-principles calculations of structural energies are used. The potentials are used to calculate the energetics and geometrics of point defects, surfaces, metastable structures, and small clusters. In all cases, the calculations have been compared to first-principles calculations and experiment when available. The calculations predict that the vacancy mechanism is the dominant diffusion mechanism in both silicon and germanium. Surface energies and relaxations of the low-index faces of Si and Ge are compared with first-principles calculations.

Nickel is typically used as one of the main components in electrical contact devices or connectors. Nickel oxide (NiO) is usually formed on the surfaces of electrodes and can negatively impact system performance by introducing electrical contact resistance. The thermal, electrical, and transport properties of NiO, as a Mott insulator or a p-type semiconductor, can be altered by operating and environmental conditions such as temperature and stress/strain by contact. In this study, we investigate the fundamental material properties of NiO through the first-principle calculations. First, we obtain and compare the lattice parameter, magnetic moment, and electronic structure for NiO via the WIEN2K simulations with four different potentials (i.e., GGA, GGA + U, LSDA, and LSDA + U). Then, using the WIEN2K simulation results with LSDA + U potential that produces a highly accurate bandgap for NiO, we calculate the electrical conductivity and electrical part of the thermal conductivity of nickel and NiO as a function of temperature and carrier concentration through the BoltzTraP simulations. Systematic simulation results revealed that the electrical conductivity relative to the relaxation time for NiO increases with the carrier concentration, while it shows a slightly decreasing trend with temperature under a fixed carrier concentration. By contrast, the electrical part of the thermal conductivity shows an increasing trend considering carrier concentration and temperature.

Using the first-principles calculations, the electronic structure, chemical bonding, mechanical, thermodynamics and superconductor properties of NbRuB are investigated. The optimized lattice parameters were in good agreement with the experimental data. The analysis of the density of states and chemical bonding implies that the metallic behavior of NbRuB originates from the Ru and Nb, and the bonding behaviors are a mixture of covalent-ionic bonds. The bulk modulus, shear modulus, Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio and hardness of NbRuB were calculated. The results reveal that the NbRuB is ductility and the Vickers hardness is 15.06 GPa. Moreover, the 3D dependences of reciprocals of Young’s modulus is also calculated and discussed, showing strong anisotropic character for NbRuB. Finally, the Debye temperature and superconducting transition temperature are obtained.

In this work, global search for crystal structures of ternary Mg-Sc-H hydrides (Mg$_x$Sc$_y$H$_z$) under high pressure ($100 \le P \le 200$ GPa) were performed using the evolutionary algorithm and first-principles calculations. Based on them, we computed the thermodynamic convex hull and pressure-dependent phase diagram of Mg$_x$Sc$_y$H$_z$ for $z/(x+y) < 4$. We have identified the stable crystal structures of four thermodynamically stable compounds with the higher hydrogen content, i.e., $R\bar{3}m$-MgScH$_{6}$, $C2/m$-Mg$_{2}$ScH$_{10}$, $Immm$-MgSc$_{2}$H$_{9}$ and $Pm\bar{3}m$-Mg(ScH$_{4}$)$_{3}$. Their superconducting transition temperatures were computationally predicted by the McMillan-Allen-Dynes formula combined with first-principles phonon calculations. They were found to exhibit superconductivity; among them, $R\bar{3}m$-MgScH$_{6}$ was predicted to have the highest $T_{c}$ (i.e. 23.34 K) at 200 GPa.

Possible combinations of alkali metal guest atoms and substitutional group-13 atoms in type-I Si clathrate and their thermoelectric properties were investigated using first-principles calculations. All alkali metals could be encapsulated as the guest element into a Si46 cage, and either Al or Ga was suitable for a substitutional atom. From the formation energy, possible clathrate compositions were selected as K8Al8Si38, K8Ga8Si38, Rb8Al8Si38, Rb8Ga8Si38, Cs8Al8Si38 and Cs8Ga8Si38. The thermoelectric properties of these compositions were calculated as functions of temperature and carrier density, using the Boltzmann transport equation and the calculated band energy. The obtained dependences of the Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity on the carrier density were discussed from the viewpoint of band structure. The thermoelectric properties were optimized to maximize ZT for each composition by controlling the carrier density. ZT μ 0.75 was predicted as the highest ZT value for hole-doped Cs8Ga8Si38. [doi:10.2320/matertrans.MBW201204]

Combined infrared spectroscopy and first-principles calculation analysis of electronic transport properties in nanocrystalline Bi2Te3 thin films with controlled strain

Using data obtained from first-principles calculations, we show that the position of the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) and transition temperature at MPB in ferroelectric perovskite solutions can be predicted with quantitative accuracy from the properties of the constituent cations. We find that the mole fraction of PbTiO3 at MPB in Pb(B′B″)O3–PbTiO3, BiBO3–PbTiO3, and Bi(B′B″)O3–PbTiO3 exhibits a linear dependence on the ionic size (tolerance factor) and the ionic displacements of the B cations as found by density-functional-theory calculations. This dependence is due to competition between the local repulsion and A-cation displacement alignment interactions. Inclusion of first-principles displacement data also allows accurate prediction of transition temperatures at the MPB. The obtained structure-property correlations are used to predict morphotropic phase boundaries and transition temperatures in as yet unsynthesized solid solutions.

A nodeless superconducting (SC) gap was reported in a recent scanning tunneling spectroscopy experiment of a copper-oxide monolayer grown on the Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+\delta}$ (Bi2212) substrate [Y. Zhong {\it et al.}, Sci. Bull. {\bf 61}, 1239 (2016)], which is in stark contrast to the nodal d-wave pairing gap in the bulk cuprates. Motivated by this experiment, we first show with first-principles calculations that the tetragonal CuO (T-CuO) monolayer on the Bi2212 substrate is more stable than the commonly postulated CuO$_{2}$ structure. The T-CuO monolayer is composed of two CuO$_2$ layers sharing the same O atoms. The band structure is obtained by first-principles calculations, and its strong electron correlation is treated with the renormalized mean-field theory. We argue that one CuO$_2$ sublattice is hole doped while the other sublattice remains half filled and may have antiferromagnetic (AF) order. The doped Cu sublattice can show d-wave SC; however, its proximity to the AF Cu sublattice induces a spin-dependent hopping, which splits the Fermi surface and may lead to a full SC gap. Therefore, the nodeless SC gap observed in the experiment could be accounted for by the d-wave SC proximity to an AF order, thus it is extrinsic rather than intrinsic to the CuO$_2$ layers.