First-principles Density Functional Perturbation Research Articles

Phonon related properties of transition metals, their carbides, and nitrides: A first-principles study

Lattice dynamics of body-centered cubic (bcc) Vb-VIb group transition metals (TM), and B1-type monocarbides and mononitrides of IIIb-VIb transition metals are studied by means of first-principles density functional perturbation theory, ultra soft pseudopotentials, and generalized gradient approximation to the exchange-correlation functional. Ground state parameters of transition metals and their compounds are correctly reproduced with the generated ultrasoft pseudopotentials. The calculated phonon spectra of the bcc metals are in excellent agreement with results of inelastic neutron scattering experiments. We show that the superconductivity of transition metal carbides (TMC) and transition metal nitrides (TMN) is related to peculiarities of the phonon spectra, and the anomalies of the spectra are connected to the number of valence electrons in crystals. The calculated electron-phonon interaction constants for TM, TMC, and TMN are in excellent agreement with experimentally determined values. Phonon spectra for a number of monocarbides and mononitrides of transition metals within the cubic NaCl- and hexagonal WC-type structures are predicted. Ideal stoichiometric B1 crystals of ScC, YC, and VC are predicted to be dynamically stable and superconducting materials. We also conclude that YN is a semiconductor.

Simultaneous softening ofCu3Nphonon modes along theT2line under pressure: A first-principles calculation

Cu{sub 3}N band structures and phonon dispersion curves under pressure are calculated using first-principles density functional theory and density functional perturbation theory with the local density approximation by the plane-wave pseudopotential method. The band structures are similar to other full-potential calculations. The indirect band gap is about 0.13 eV and decreases with increasing pressure. Simultaneous softening of the M{sub 3} and R{sub 25} zone boundary phonon modes was found and the possible associated successive structural phase transitions were discussed. The mode Grueneisen parameters for optic modes were obtained and the frequency versus pressure relationship was well fitted to second-order polynomials. The quadric relationship between the soft-mode frequency and pressure was also well reproduced for the M{sub 3} and R{sub 25} soft modes. The large difference of the soft-mode-driven transition pressures for the first high-pressure phases of ReO{sub 3} and Cu{sub 3}N were also discussed.

Nonlinear optical susceptibilities, Raman efficiencies, and electro-optic tensors from first-principles density functional perturbation theory

The nonlinear response of infinite periodic solids to homogenous electric fields and collective atomic displacements is discussed in the framework of density functional perturbation theory. The approach is based on the $2n+1$ theorem applied to an electric-field-dependent energy functional. We report the expressions for the calculation of the nonlinear optical susceptibilities, Raman scattering efficiencies, and electro-optic (EO) coefficients. Different formulations of third-order energy derivatives are examined and their convergence with respect to the $\mathbf{k}$-point sampling is discussed. We apply our method to a few simple cases and compare our results to those obtained with distinct techniques. Finally, we discuss the effect of a scissors correction on the EO coefficients and nonlinear optical susceptibilities.