Thermal transport in MoS2 from molecular dynamics using different empirical potentials

Thermal properties of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) have recently attracted attention related to fundamentals of heat propagation in strongly anisotropic materials, and in the context of potential applications to optoelectronics and thermoelectrics. Multiple empirical potentials have been developed for classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of this material, but it has been unclear which provides the most realistic results. Here, we calculate lattice thermal conductivity of single- and multilayer pristine MoS2 by employing three different thermal transport MD methods: equilibrium, nonequilibrium, and homogeneous nonequilibrium ones. We mainly use the Graphics Processing Units Molecular Dynamics code for numerical calculations, and the Large-scale Atomic/Molecular Massively Parallel Simulator code for crosschecks. Using different methods and computer codes allows us to verify the consistency of our results and facilitate comparisons with previous studies, where different schemes have been adopted. Our results using variants of the Stillinger-Weber potential are at odds with some previous ones and we analyze the possible origins of the discrepancies in detail. We show that, among the potentials considered here, the reactive empirical bond order (REBO) potential gives the most reasonable predictions of thermal transport properties as compared to experimental data. With the REBO potential, we further find that isotope scattering has only a small effect on thermal conduction in MoS2 and the in-plane thermal conductivity decreases with increasing layer number and saturates beyond about three layers. We identify the REBO potential as a transferable empirical potential for MD simulations of MoS2 which can be used to study thermal transport properties in more complicated situations such as in systems containing defects or engineered nanoscale features. This work establishes a firm foundation for understanding heat transport properties of MoS2 using MD simulations

Photoluminescence line shapes for color centers in silicon carbide from density functional theory calculations

Silicon carbide with optically and magnetically active point defects offers unique opportunities for quantum technology applications. Since interaction with these defects commonly happens through optical excitation and deexcitation, a complete understanding of their light-matter interaction in general and optical signatures in particular is crucial. Here, we employ quantum mechanical density functional theory calculations to investigate the photoluminescence line shapes of selected, experimentally observed color centers (including single vacancies, double vacancies, and vacancy-impurity pairs) in 4H-SiC. The analysis of zero-phonon lines as well as Huang-Rhys and Debye-Waller factors is accompanied by a detailed study of the underlying lattice vibrations. We show that the defect line shapes are governed by strong coupling to bulk phonons at lower energies and localized vibrational modes at higher energies. Generally, good agreement with the available experimental data is obtained, and thus we expect our theoretical work to be beneficial for the identification of defect signatures in the photoluminescence spectra and thereby advance the research in quantum photonics and quantum information processing

Experimental Observation of Boron Nitride Chains

We report the formation and characterization of boron nitride atomic chains. The chains were made from hexagonal boron nitride sheets using the electron beam inside a transmission electron microscope. We find that the stability and lifetime of the chains are significantly improved when they are supported by another boron nitride layer. With the help of first-principles calculations, we prove the heteroatomic structure of the chains and determine their mechanical and electronic properties. Our study completes the analogy between various boron nitride and carbon polymorphs, in accordance with earlier theoretical predictions

Single-Layer ReS₂: Two-Dimensional Semiconductor with Tunable In-Plane Anisotropy

Rhenium disulfide (ReS₂) and diselenide (ReSe₂), the group 7 transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), are known to have a layered atomic structure showing an in-plane motif of diamond-shaped-chains (DS-chains) arranged in parallel. Using a combination of transmission electron microscopy and transport measurements, we demonstrate here the direct correlation of electron transport anisotropy in single-layered ReS₂ with the atomic orientation of the DS-chains, as also supported by our density functional theory calculations. We further show that the direction of conducting channels in ReS₂ and ReSe₂ can be controlled by electron beam irradiation at elevated temperatures and follows the strain induced to the sample. Furthermore, high chalcogen deficiency can induce a structural transformation to a nonstoichiometric phase, which is again strongly direction-dependent. This tunable in-plane transport behavior opens up great avenues for creating nanoelectronic circuits in 2D materials

Atomic Scale Microstructure and Properties of Se-Deficient Two-Dimensional MoSe₂

We study the atomic scale microstructure of nonstoichiometric two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenide MoSe_2–<i>x</i> by employing aberration-corrected high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. We show that a Se-deficit in single layers of MoSe₂ grown by molecular beam epitaxy gives rise to a dense network of mirror-twin-boundaries (MTBs) decorating the 2D-grains. With the use of density functional theory calculations, we further demonstrate that MTBs are thermodynamically stable structures in Se-deficient sheets. These line defects host spatially localized states with energies close to the valence band minimum, thus giving rise to enhanced conductance along straight MTBs. However, electronic transport calculations show that the transmission of hole charge carriers across MTBs is strongly suppressed due to band bending effects. We further observe formation of MTBs during <i>in situ</i> removal of Se atoms by the electron beam of the microscope, thus confirming that MTBs appear due to Se-deficit, and not coalescence of individual grains during growth. At a very high local Se-deficit, the 2D sheet becomes unstable and transforms to a nanowire. Our results on Se-deficient MoSe₂ suggest routes toward engineering the properties of 2D transition metal dichalcogenides by deviations from the stoichiometric composition

Atomic Scale Microstructure and Properties of Se-Deficient Two-Dimensional MoSe₂

We study the atomic scale microstructure of nonstoichiometric two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenide MoSe_2–<i>x</i> by employing aberration-corrected high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. We show that a Se-deficit in single layers of MoSe₂ grown by molecular beam epitaxy gives rise to a dense network of mirror-twin-boundaries (MTBs) decorating the 2D-grains. With the use of density functional theory calculations, we further demonstrate that MTBs are thermodynamically stable structures in Se-deficient sheets. These line defects host spatially localized states with energies close to the valence band minimum, thus giving rise to enhanced conductance along straight MTBs. However, electronic transport calculations show that the transmission of hole charge carriers across MTBs is strongly suppressed due to band bending effects. We further observe formation of MTBs during <i>in situ</i> removal of Se atoms by the electron beam of the microscope, thus confirming that MTBs appear due to Se-deficit, and not coalescence of individual grains during growth. At a very high local Se-deficit, the 2D sheet becomes unstable and transforms to a nanowire. Our results on Se-deficient MoSe₂ suggest routes toward engineering the properties of 2D transition metal dichalcogenides by deviations from the stoichiometric composition