No Arabic abstract
The recently experimentally synthesized monolayer $mathrm{MoSi_2N_4}$ and $mathrm{WSi_2N_4}$ (textcolor[rgb]{0.00,0.00,1.00}{Science 369, 670-674 (2020})) lack inversion symmetry, which allows them to become piezoelectric. In this work, based on ab initio calculations, we report structure effect on intrinsic piezoelectricity in septuple-atomic-layer $mathrm{MSi_2N_4}$ (M=Mo and W), and six structures ($alpha_i$ ($i$=1 to 6)) are considered with the same space group.It is found that $mathrm{MSi_2N_4}$ (M=Mo and W) with $alpha_i$ ($i$=1 to 6) all are indirect band gap semiconductors. Calculated results show that $mathrm{MoSi_2N_4}$ and $mathrm{WSi_2N_4}$ monolayers have the same structural dependence on piezoelectric strain and stress coefficients ($d_{11}$ and $e_{11}$), together with the ionic and electronic contributions to $e_{11}$.Finally, we investigate the intrinsic piezoelectricity of monolayer $mathrm{MA_2Z_4}$ (M=Cr, Mo and W; A=Si and Ge; Z=N and P) with $alpha_1$ and $alpha_2$ phases expect $mathrm{CrGe_2N_4}$, because they all are semiconductors and their enthalpies of formation between $alpha_1$ and $alpha_2$ phases are very close. The most important result is that monolayer $mathrm{MA_2Z_4}$ containing P atom have more stronger piezoelectric polarization than one including N atom. The largest $d_{11}$ among $mathrm{MA_2N_4}$ materials is 1.85 pm/V, which is close to the smallest $d_{11}$ of 1.65 pm/V in $mathrm{MA_2P_4}$ monolayers. For $mathrm{MA_2P_4}$, the largest $d_{11}$ is up to 6.12 pm/V. Among the 22 monolayers, $alpha_1$-$mathrm{CrSi_2P_4}$, $alpha_1$-$mathrm{MoSi_2P_4}$, $alpha_1$-$mathrm{CrGe_2P_4}$, $alpha_1$-$mathrm{MoGe_2P_4}$ and $alpha_2$-$mathrm{CrGe_2P_4}$ have large $d_{11}$, which are greater than or close to 5 pm/V, a typical value for bulk piezoelectric materials.
The septuple-atomic-layer $mathrm{VSi_2P_4}$ with the same structure of experimentally synthesized $mathrm{MoSi_2N_4}$ is predicted to be a spin-gapless semiconductor (SGS). In this work, the biaxial strain is applied to tune electronic properties of $mathrm{VSi_2P_4}$, and it spans a wide range of properties upon the increasing strain from ferromagnetic metal (FMM) to SGS to ferromagnetic semiconductor (FMS) to SGS to ferromagnetic half-metal (FMHM). Due to broken inversion symmetry, the coexistence of ferromagnetism and piezoelectricity can be achieved in FMS $mathrm{VSi_2P_4}$ with strain range of 0% to 4%. The calculated piezoelectric strain coefficients $d_{11}$ for 1%, 2% and 3% strains are 4.61 pm/V, 4.94 pm/V and 5.27 pm/V, respectively, which are greater than or close to a typical value of 5 pm/V for bulk piezoelectric materials. Finally, similar to $mathrm{VSi_2P_4}$, the coexistence of piezoelectricity and ferromagnetism can be realized by strain in the $mathrm{VSi_2N_4}$ monolayer. Our works show that $mathrm{VSi_2P_4}$ in FMS phase with intrinsic piezoelectric properties can have potential applications in spin electronic devices.
Janus two-dimensional (2D) materials have attracted much attention due to possessing unique properties caused by their out-of-plane asymmetry, which have been achieved in many 2D families. In this work, the Janus monolayers are predicted in new 2D $mathrm{MA_2Z_4}$ family by means of first-principles calculations, $mathrm{MoSi_2N_4}$ and $mathrm{WSi_2N_4}$ of which have been synthesized in experiment(textcolor[rgb]{0.00,0.00,1.00}{Science 369, 670-674 (2020)}). The predicted $mathrm{MSiGeN_4}$ (M=Mo and W) monolayers exhibit dynamic, thermodynamical and mechanical stability, and they are indirect band-gap semiconductors. The inclusion of spin-orbit coupling (SOC) gives rise to the Rashba-type spin splitting, which is observed in the valence bands, being different from common conduction bands. Calculated results show valley polarization at the edge of the conduction bands due to SOC together with inversion symmetry breaking. It is found that $mathrm{MSiGeN_4}$ (M=Mo and W) monolayers have high electron mobilities. Both in-plane and much weak out-of-plane piezoelectric polarizations can be observed, when a uniaxial strain in the basal plane is applied. The values of piezoelectric strain coefficient $d_{11}$ of the Janus $mathrm{MSiGeN_4}$ (M=Mo and W) monolayers fall between those of the $mathrm{MSi_2N_4}$ (M=Mo and W) and $mathrm{MGe_2N_4}$ (M=Mo and W) monolayers, as expected. It is proved that strain can tune the positions of valence band maximum (VBM) and conduction band minimum (CBM), and enhance the the strength of conduction bands convergence caused by compressive strain. It is also found that tensile biaxial strain can enhance $d_{11}$ of $mathrm{MSiGeN_4}$ (M=Mo and W) monolayers, and the compressive strain can improve the $d_{31}$ (absolute values).
Motived by experimentally synthesized $mathrm{MoSi_2N_4}$ (textcolor[rgb]{0.00,0.00,1.00}{Science 369, 670-674 (2020})), the intrinsic piezoelectricity in monolayer $mathrm{XSi_2N_4}$ (X=Ti, Zr, Hf, Cr, Mo and W) are studied by density functional theory (DFT). Among the six monolayers, the $mathrm{CrSi_2N_4}$ has the best piezoelectric strain coefficient $d_{11}$ of 1.24 pm/V, and the second is 1.15 pm/V for $mathrm{MoSi_2N_4}$. Taking $mathrm{MoSi_2N_4}$ as a example, strain engineering is applied to improve $d_{11}$. It is found that tensile biaxial strain can enhance $d_{11}$ of $mathrm{MoSi_2N_4}$, and the $d_{11}$ at 4% can improve by 107% with respect to unstrained one. By replacing the N by P or As in $mathrm{MoSi_2N_4}$, the $d_{11}$ can be raise substantially. For $mathrm{MoSi_2P_4}$ and $mathrm{MoSi_2As_4}$, the $d_{11}$ is as high as 4.93 pm/V and 6.23 pm/V, which is mainly due to smaller $C_{11}-C_{12}$ and very small minus or positive ionic contribution to piezoelectric stress coefficient $e_{11}$ with respect to $mathrm{MoSi_2N_4}$. The discovery of this piezoelectricity in monolayer $mathrm{XSi_2N_4}$ enables active sensing, actuating and new electronic components for nanoscale devices, and is recommended for experimental exploration.
Two-dimensional topological insulators and two-dimensional materials with ferroelastic characteristics are intriguing materials and many examples have been reported both experimentally and theoretically. Here, we present the combination of both features - a two-dimensional ferroelastic topological insulator that simultaneously possesses ferroelastic and quantum spin Hall characteristics. Using first-principles calculations, we demonstrate Janus single-layer MSSe (M=Mo, W) stable two-dimensional crystals that show the long-sought ferroelastic topological insulator properties. The material features low switching barriers and strong ferroelastic signals, beneficial for applications in nonvolatile memory devices. Moreover, their topological phases harbor sizeable nontrivial band gaps, which supports the quantum spin Hall effect. The unique coexistence of excellent ferroelastic and quantum spin Hall phases in single-layer MSSe provides extraordinary platforms for realizing multi-purpose and controllable devices.
We performed comparable polarized Raman scattering studies of MoTe2 and WTe2. By rotating crystals to tune the angle between the principal axis of the crystals and the polarization of the incident/scattered light, we obtained the angle dependence of the intensities for all the observed modes, which is perfectly consistent with careful symmetry analysis. Combining these results with first-principles calculations, we clearly identified the observed phonon modes in the different phases of both crystals. Fifteen Raman-active phonon modes (10Ag+5Bg) in the high-symmetry phase 1T-MoTe2 (300 K) were well assigned, and all the symmetry-allowed Raman modes (11A1+6A2) in the low-symmetry phase Td-MoTe2 (10 K) and 12 Raman phonons (8A1+4A2) in Td-WTe2 were observed and identified. The present work provides basic information about the lattice dynamics in transition-metal dichalcogenides and may shed some light on the understanding of the extremely large magnetoresistance (MR) in this class of materials.