Pressure-induced structural transitions in MgH2{_2}

The stability of MgH$_2$ has been studied up to 20~GPa using density-functional total-energy calculations. At ambient pressure $\alpha$-MgH${_2}$ takes a TiO$_2$-rutile-type structure. $\alpha$-MgH$_2$ is predicted to transform into $\gamma$-MgH${_2}$ at 0.39~GPa. The calculated structural data for $\alpha$- and $\gamma$-MgH${_2}$ are in very good agreement with experimental values. At equilibrium the energy difference between these modifications is very small, and as a result both phases coexist in a certain volume and pressure field. Above 3.84~GPa $\gamma$-MgH${_2}$ transforms into $\beta$-MgH${_2}$; consistent with experimental findings. Two further transformations have been identified at still higher pressure: i) $\beta$- to $\delta$-MgH${_2}$ at 6.73 GPa and (ii) $\delta$- to $\epsilon$-MgH${_2}$ at 10.26~GPa.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

The Jahn-Teller active fluoroperovskites ACrF3A\mathrm{CrF_3} A=Na+,K+A=\mathrm{Na^+},\mathrm{K^+}: thermo- and magneto optical correlations as function of the AA-site

Chromium (II) fluoroperovskites $A\mathrm{CrF_3}(A\mathrm{=Na^+,K^+})$ are strongly correlated Jahn-Teller active materials at low temperatures. In this paper, we examine the role that the $A$-site ion plays in this family of fluoroperovskites using both experimental methods (XRD, optical absorption spectroscopy and magnetic fields) and DFT simulations. Temperature-dependent optical absorption experiments show that the spin-allowed transitions $E_2$ and $E_3$ only merge completely for $A$= Na at 2 K. Field-dependent optical absorption measurements at 2 K show that the oscillating strength of the spin-allowed transitions in $\mathrm{NaCrF_3}$ increases with increasing applied field. Direct magneto-structural correlations which suppress the spin-flip transitions are observed for ${\rm KCrF_3}$ below its Ne\'el temperature. In ${\rm NaCrF_3}$ the spin-flip transitions vanish abruptly below 9 K revealing magneto-optical correlations not linked to crystal structure changes. This suggests that as the long range ordering is reduced local JT effects in the individual ${\rm CrF_6^{4-}}$ octahedra take control of the observed behavior. Our results show clear deviation from the pattern found for the isoelectronic $A_x{\rm MnF}_{3+x}$ system. The size of the $A$-site cation is shown to be central in dictating the physical properties and phase transitions in $A{\rm CrF}_3$, opening up the possibility of varying the composition to create novel states of matter with tuneable properties

Iron oxide doped boron nitride nanotubes: structural and magnetic properties

A first-principles formalism is employed to investigate the interaction of iron oxide (FeO) with a boron nitride (BN) nanotube. The stable structure of the FeO-nanotube has Fe atoms binding N atoms, with bond length of roughly $\sim$2.1 \AA, and binding between O and B atoms, with bond length of 1.55 \AA. In case of small FeO concentrations, the total magnetic moment is (4$\mu_{Bohr}$) times the number of Fe atoms in the unit cell and it is energetically favorable to FeO units to aggregate rather than randomly bind to the tube. As a larger FeO concentration case, we study a BN nanotube fully covered by a single layer of FeO. We found that such a structure has square FeO lattice with Fe-O bond length of 2.11 \AA, similar to that of FeO bulk, and total magnetic moment of 3.94$\mu_{Bohr}$ per Fe atom. Consistently with experimental results, the FeO covered nanotube is a semi-half-metal which can become a half-metal if a small change in the Fermi level is induced. Such a structure may be important in the spintronics context.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

Coulomb correlation effects in zinc monochalcogenides

Electronic structure and band characteristics for zinc monochalcogenides with zinc-blende- and wurtzite-type structures are studied by first-principles density-functional-theory calculations with different approximations. It is shown that the local-density approximation underestimates the band gap and energy splitting between the states at the top of the valence band, misplaces the energy levels of the Zn-3d states, and overestimates the crystal-field-splitting energy. Regardless of the structure type considered, the spin-orbit-coupling energy is found to be overestimated for ZnO and underestimated for ZnS with wurtzite-type structure, and more or less correct for ZnSe and ZnTe with zinc-blende-type structure. The order of the states at the top of the valence band is found to be anomalous for ZnO in both zinc-blende- and wurtzite-type structure, but is normal for the other zinc monochalcogenides considered. It is shown that the Zn-3d electrons and their interference with the O-2p electrons are responsible for the anomalous order. The typical errors in the calculated band gaps and related parameters for ZnO originate from strong Coulomb correlations, which are found to be highly significant for this compound. The LDA+U approach is by and large found to correct the strong correlation of the Zn-3d electrons, and thus to improve the agreement with the experimentally established location of the Zn-3d levels compared with that derived from pure LDA calculations

Electronic structure and optical properties of ZnX (X=O, S, Se, Te)

Electronic band structure and optical properties of zinc monochalcogenides with zinc-blende- and wurtzite-type structures were studied using the ab initio density functional method within the LDA, GGA, and LDA+U approaches. Calculations of the optical spectra have been performed for the energy range 0-20 eV, with and without including spin-orbit coupling. Reflectivity, absorption and extinction coefficients, and refractive index have been computed from the imaginary part of the dielectric function using the Kramers--Kronig transformations. A rigid shift of the calculated optical spectra is found to provide a good first approximation to reproduce experimental observations for almost all the zinc monochalcogenide phases considered. By inspection of the calculated and experimentally determined band-gap values for the zinc monochalcogenide series, the band gap of ZnO with zinc-blende structure has been estimated.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figure

The Origin of Magnetic Interactions in Ca3Co2O6

We investigate the microscopic origin of the ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic spin exchange couplings in the quasi one-dimensional cobalt compound Ca3Co2O6. In particular, we establish a local model which stabilizes a ferromagnetic alignment of the S=2 spins on the cobalt sites with trigonal prismatic symmetry, for a sufficiently strong Hund's rule coupling on the cobalt ions. The exchange is mediated through a S=0 cobalt ion at the octahedral sites of the chain structure. We present a strong coupling evaluation of the Heisenberg coupling between the S=2 Co spins on a separate chain. The chains are coupled antiferromagnetically through super-superexchange via short O-O bonds.Comment: 5 Pages, 3 Figures; added anisotropy term in eq. 9; extended discussion of phase transitio

Energetics of intrinsic defects and their complexes in ZnO investigated by density functional calculations

Formation energies of various intrinsic defects and defect complexes in ZnO have been calculated using a density-functional-theory-based pseudopotential all-electron method. The various defects considered are oxygen vacancy (VO), zinc vacancy (VZn), oxygen at an interstitial site (Oi), Zn at an interstitial site (Zni), Zn at VO (ZnO), O at VZn(OZn), and an antisite pair (combination of the preceding two defects). In addition, defect complexes like (VO+Zni) and Zn-vacancy clusters are studied. The Schokkty pair (VO+VZn) and Frenkel pairs [(VO+Oi) and (VZn+Zni)] are considered theoretically for the first time. Upon comparing the formation energies of these defects, we find that VO would be the dominant intrinsic defect under both Zn-rich and O-rich conditions and it is a deep double donor. Both ZnO and Zni are found to be shallow donors. The low formation energy of donor-type intrinsic defects could lead to difficulty in achieving p-type conductivity in ZnO. Defect complexes have charge transitions deep inside the band gap. The red, yellow, and green photoluminescence peaks of undoped samples can be assigned to some of the defect complexes considered. It is believed that the red luminescence originates from an electronic transition in VO, but we find that it can originate from the antisite ZnO defect. Charge density and electron-localization function analyses have been used to understand the effect of these defects on the ZnO lattice. The electronic structure of ZnO with intrinsic defects has been studied using density-of-states and electronic band structure plots. The acceptor levels introduced by VZn are relatively localized, making it difficult to achieve p-type conductivity with sufficient hole mobility.Peer reviewe