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Following our ab initio nonlinear optical (NLO) materials design guidelines, in this Letter, we discovered a novel type of structure to realize potential deep-ultraviolet (DUV) NLO performance in the classical beryllium borate system. By densely stacking the NLO-active layered frameworks, the key design scheme for the structural evolution from the (Be2BO3F2) layers in KBe2BO3F2 (KBBF) to the novel (Be2BO5H3) layers in berborite is illustrated. Based on available experimental results and systematical theoretical evaluation from first principles, the NLO properties of berborite are further obtained as comparable as the only pratical DUV NLO crystal KBBF. It is demonstrated that berborite can achieve available DUV phase-matched output with strong NLO effect for the practically important 177.3 nm and 193.7 nm lasers. Once obtained with sizable single crystal, it can be applied as a promising DUV NLO crystal.
The bulk photovoltaic effect (BPVE) refers to current generation due to illumination by light in a homogeneous bulk material lacking inversion symmetry. In addition to the intensively studied shift current, the ballistic current, which originates from asymmetric carrier generation due to scattering processes, also constitutes an important contribution to the overall kinetic model of the BPVE. In this letter, we use a perturbative approach to derive a formula for the ballistic current resulting from the intrinsic electron-phonon scattering in a form amenable to first-principles calculation. We then implement the theory and calculate the ballistic current of the prototypical BPVE material ch{BaTiO3} using quantum-mechanical density functional theory. The magnitude of the ballistic current is comparable to that of shift current, and the total spectrum (shift plus ballistic) agrees well with the experimentally measured photocurrents. Furthermore, we show that the ballistic current is sensitive to structural change, which could benefit future photovoltaic materials design.
In the context of the search for environment-respectful, lead- and bismuth- free chemical compounds for devices such as actuators, SnTiO3 (ST) is investigated from first principles within DFT. Full geometry optimization provides a stable tetragonal structure relative to cubic one. From the equation of state the equilibrium volume of SnTiO3 is found smaller than ferroelectric PbTiO3 (PT) in agreement with a smaller Sn2+ radius. While ionic displacements exhibit similar trends between ST and PT a larger tetragonality (c/a ratio) for ST results in a larger polarization, PST = 1.1 C.m2. The analysis of the electronic band structure detailing the Sn-O and Ti-O interactions points to a differentiated chemical bonding and a reinforcement of the covalent bonding with respect to Pb homologue.
Motivated by the nonlinear Hall effect observed in topological semimetals, we studied the photocurrent by the quantum kinetic equation. We recovered the shift current and injection current discovered by Sipe et al., and the nonlinear Hall current induced by Berry curvature dipole (BCD) proposed by Inti Sodemann and Liang Fu. Especially, we further proposed that 3-form tensor can also induce photocurrent, in addition to the Berry curvature and BCD. This work will supplement the existing mechanisms for photocurrent. In contrast to the shift current induced by shift vector, all photocurrents induced by gradient/curl of Berry curvature, and high rank tensor require circularly polarized light and topologically non-trivial band structure, viz. non-vanishing Berry curvature.
The structural, elastic and electronic properties of ReN are investigated by first-principles calculations based on density functional theory. Two competing structures, i.e., CsCl-like and NiAs-like structures, are found and the most stable structure, NiAs-like, has a hexagonal symmetry which belongs to space group P63/mmc with a=2.7472 and c=5.8180 AA. ReN with hexagonal symmetry is a metal ultra-incompressible solid and has less elastic anisotropy. The ultra-incompressibility of ReN is attributed to its high valence electron density and strong covalence bondings. Calculations of density of states and charge density distribution, together with Mulliken atomic population analysis, show that the bondings of ReN should be a mixture of metallic, covalent, and ionic bondings. Our results indicate that ReN can be used as a potential ultra-incompressible conductor. In particular, we obtain a superconducting transition temperature T$_c$=4.8 K for ReN.
Accurate molecular crystal structure prediction is a fundamental goal in academic and industrial condensed matter research and polymorphism is arguably the biggest obstacle on the way. We tackle this challenge in the difficult case of the repeatedly studied, abundantly used aminoacid Glycine that hosts still little-known phase transitions and we illustrate the current state of the field through this example. We demonstrate that the combination of recent progress in structure search algorithms with the latest advances in the description of van der Waals interactions in Density Functional Theory, supported by data-mining analysis, enables a leap in predictive power: we resolve, without prior empirical input, all known phases of glycine, as well as the structure of the previously unresolved $zeta$ phase after a decade of its experimental observation [Boldyreva et al. textit{Z. Kristallogr.} textbf{2005,} textit{220,} 50-57]. The search for the well-established $alpha$ phase instead reveals the remaining challenges in exploring a polymorphic landscape.