1,162 research outputs found

    Origin of the structural phase transition in Li7La3Zr2O12

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    Garnet-type Li7La3Zr2O12 (LLZO) is a solid electrolyte material with a low-conductivity tetragonal and a high-conductivity cubic phase. Using density-functional theory and variable cell shape molecular dynamics simulations, we show that the tetragonal phase stability is dependent on a simultaneous ordering of the Li ions on the Li sublattice and a volume-preserving tetragonal distortion that relieves internal structural strain. Supervalent doping introduces vacancies into the Li sublattice, increasing the overall entropy and reducing the free energy gain from ordering, eventually stabilizing the cubic phase. We show that the critical temperature for cubic phase stability is lowered as Li vacancy concentration (dopant level) is raised and that an activated hop of Li ions from one crystallographic site to another always accompanies the transition. By identifying the relevant mechanism and critical concentrations for achieving the high conductivity phase, this work shows how targeted synthesis could be used to improve electrolytic performance

    Rank-Deficiency in Indoor MIMO

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    This paper points out in an analytical way that rankdeficiency in indoor MIMO is typically due to the small size of scattering windows in the NLOS propagation path between the transmitter and the receiver

    Theoretical study of deep-defect states in bulk PbTe and in thin films

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    The nature of neutral defect states in PbTe, a narrow band-gap semiconductor, has been studied using density functional theory and supercell models. We find that the defect states associated with different substitutional impurities and native point defects found in bulk PbTe are preserved in the film geometry, but get modified as one goes from the surface to the subsurface layers and then to the bulklike layers. These modifications, which usually occur in the neighborhood of the band gap, will impact the transport properties of the films. Energetic studies of different impurities and native defects embedded in bulk PbTe and in different layers of PbTe films show different energy landscapes, depending on the nature of the defects. This has important implications in doping mechanism and the distribution of the defects in bulk PbTe with grain boundaries and in PbTe nanostructures. Available experimental data are discussed in the light of our theoretical results. Our results in pure PbTe(001) films are consistent with earlier works and with experiment

    Hole polaron formation and migration in olivine phosphate materials

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    By combining first principles calculations and experimental XPS measurements, we investigate the electronic structure of potential Li-ion battery cathode materials LiMPO4 (M=Mn,Fe,Co,Ni) to uncover the underlying mechanisms that determine small hole polaron formation and migration. We show that small hole polaron formation depends on features in the electronic structure near the valence-band maximum and that, calculationally, these features depend on the methodology chosen for dealing with the correlated nature of the transition-metal d-derived states in these systems. Comparison with experiment reveals that a hybrid functional approach is superior to GGA+U in correctly reproducing the XPS spectra. Using this approach we find that LiNiPO4 cannot support small hole polarons, but that the other three compounds can. The migration barrier is determined mainly by the strong or weak bonding nature of the states at the top of the valence band, resulting in a substantially higher barrier for LiMnPO4 than for LiCoPO4 or LiFePO4
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