Strain-tunable electronic structure of two-dimensional monolayer SiP

Abstract

The 2D monolayer [Formula: see text]-SiP has a honeycomb lattice and an intrinsic indirect band gap. Herein, the density functional theory calculations are performed to modulate the electronic structure of 2D monolayer [Formula: see text]-SiP by applying strains. The band gap of monolayer [Formula: see text]-SiP is monotonously reduced by the strains. More interestingly, a direct band gap is more likely to be achieved by applying strains along the armchair direction than along the zigzag direction. Finally, 2D monolayer [Formula: see text]-SiP can possess a tunable direct band gap of 1.57–0.73 eV (HSE06) and considerable visible light absorption index, by applying compression strains of −6–−10% along the armchair direction. The work provides a route of modulating the electronic and optical properties of monolayer [Formula: see text]-SiP, which extends its application range for various fields such as electronic devices and solar energy conversion.