254 research outputs found
Ab initio study of reflectance anisotropy spectra of a sub-monolayer oxidized Si(100) surface
The effects of oxygen adsorption on the reflectance anisotropy spectrum (RAS)
of reconstructed Si(100):O surfaces at sub-monolayer coverage (first stages of
oxidation) have been studied by an ab initio DFT-LDA scheme within a
plane-wave, norm-conserving pseudopotential approach. Dangling bonds and the
main features of the characteristic RAS of the clean Si(100) surface are mostly
preserved after oxidation of 50% of the surface dimers, with some visible
changes: a small red shift of the first peak, and the appearance of a distinct
spectral structure at about 1.5 eV. The electronic transitions involved in the
latter have been analyzed through state-by-state and layer-by-layer
decompositions of the RAS. We suggest that new interplay between present
theoretical results and reflectance anisotropy spectroscopy experiments could
lead to further clarification of structural and kinetic details of the Si(100)
oxidation process in the sub-monolayer range.Comment: 21 pages, 8 figures. To be published in Physical Rev.
Dynamical brittle fractures of nanocrystalline silicon using large-scale electronic structure calculations
A hybrid scheme between large-scale electronic structure calculations is
developed and applied to nanocrystalline silicon with more than 10 atoms.
Dynamical fracture processes are simulated under external loads in the [001]
direction. We shows that the fracture propagates anisotropically on the (001)
plane and reconstructed surfaces appear with asymmetric dimers. Step structures
are formed in larger systems, which is understood as the beginning of a
crossover between nanoscale and macroscale samples.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure
Krylov Subspace Method for Molecular Dynamics Simulation based on Large-Scale Electronic Structure Theory
For large scale electronic structure calculation, the Krylov subspace method
is introduced to calculate the one-body density matrix instead of the
eigenstates of given Hamiltonian. This method provides an efficient way to
extract the essential character of the Hamiltonian within a limited number of
basis set. Its validation is confirmed by the convergence property of the
density matrix within the subspace. The following quantities are calculated;
energy, force, density of states, and energy spectrum. Molecular dynamics
simulation of Si(001) surface reconstruction is examined as an example, and the
results reproduce the mechanism of asymmetric surface dimer.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures; corrected typos; to be published in Journal of
the Phys. Soc. of Japa
Relative permeability as a stationary process: energy fluctuations in immiscible displacement
Relative permeability is commonly used to model immiscible fluid flow through
porous materials. In this work we derive the relative permeability relationship
from conservation of energy, assuming that the system to be non-ergodic at
large length scales and relying on averaging in both space and time to
homogenize the behavior. Explicit criteria are obtained to define stationary
conditions: (1) there can be no net change for extensive measures of the system
state over the time averaging interval; (2) the net energy inputs into the
system are zero, meaning that the net rate of work done on the system must
balance with the heat removed; and (3) there is no net work performed due to
the contribution of internal energy fluctuations. Results are then evaluated
based on direct numerical simulation. Dynamic connectivity is observed during
steady-state flow, which is quantitatively assessed based the Euler
characteristic. We show that even during steady-state flow at low capillary
number (), typical flow processes will explore
multiple connectivity states. The residence time for each connectivity state is
captured based on the time-and-space average. The distribution for energy
fluctuations is shown to be multi-modal and non-Gaussian when terms are
considered independently. However, we demonstrate that their sum is zero. Given
an appropriate choice of the thermodynamic driving force, we show that the
conventional relative permeability relationship is sufficient to model the
energy dissipation in systems with complex pore-scale dynamics that routinely
alter the structure of fluid connected pathways
Reconstruction and thermal stability of the cubic SiC(001) surfaces
The (001) surfaces of cubic SiC were investigated with ab-initio molecular
dynamics simulations. We show that C-terminated surfaces can have different
c(2x2) and p(2x1) reconstructions, depending on preparation conditions and
thermal treatment, and we suggest experimental probes to identify the various
reconstructed geometries. Furthermore we show that Si-terminated surfaces
exhibit a p(2x1) reconstruction at T=0, whereas above room temperature they
oscillate between a dimer row and an ideal geometry below 500 K, and sample
several patterns including a c(4x2) above 500 K.Comment: 12 pages, RevTeX, figures 1 and 2 available in gif form at
http://irrmawww.epfl.ch/fg/sic/fig1.gif and
http://irrmawww.epfl.ch/fg/sic/fig2.gi
Ab initio optical properties of Si(100)
We compute the linear optical properties of different reconstructions of the
clean and hydrogenated Si(100) surface within DFT-LDA, using norm-conserving
pseudopotentials. The equilibrium atomic geometries of the surfaces, determined
from self-consistent total energy calculations within the Car-Parrinello
scheme, strongly influence Reflectance Anisotropy Spectra (RAS), showing
differences between the p(2x2) and c(4x2)reconstructions. The Differential
Reflectivity spectrum for the c(4x2) reconstruction shows a positive peak at
energies < 1 eV, in agreement with experimental results.Comment: fig. 2 correcte
Te covered Si(001): a variable surface reconstruction
At a given temperature, clean and adatom covered silicon surfaces usually
exhibit well-defined reconstruction patterns. Our finite temperature ab-initio
molecular dynamics calculations show that the tellurium covered Si(001) surface
is an exception. Soft longitudinal modes of surface phonons due to the strongly
anharmonic potential of the bridged tellurium atoms prevent the reconstruction
structure from attaining any permanent, two dimensional periodic geometry. This
explains why experiments attempting to find a definite model for the
reconstruction have reached conflicting conclusions.Comment: 4 pages, 3 gif figure
The role of electronic correlation in the Si(100) reconstruction: a quantum Monte Carlo study
Recent low-temperature scanning tunneling experiments have challenged the
generally accepted picture of buckled silicon dimers as the ground state
reconstruction of the Si(100) surface. Together with the symmetric dimer model
of the surface suggested by quantum chemistry calculations on small clusters,
these findings question our general understanding of electronic correlations at
surfaces and its proper description within density functional theory. We
present quantum Monte Carlo calculations on large cluster models of the
symmetric and buckled surface, and conclude that buckling remains energetically
more favorable even when the present-day best treatment of electronic
correlation is employed.Comment: 5 pages, Revtex, 10 figure
- …