Exciton-phonon coupling effects on the optical properties of semiconductors: an ab-initio density functional theory approach

• Grant number: 15/14899-0
• Support type: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Effective date (Start): November 01, 2015
• Effective date (End): October 31, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics - Condensed Matter Physics
• Principal researcher: Alexandre Reily Rocha
• Grantee: César Enrique Pérez Villegas
• Supervisor abroad: Andrea Marini
• Home Institution: Instituto de Física Teórica (IFT). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Research place: Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Italy
• Associated to the scholarship: 12/24227-1 - Optical properties and charge-transfer process studies for efficient organic photovoltaic cells: ab-initio simulations, BP.PD

Abstract

Temperature effects play an important role on the performance of optoelectronic devices since they induce significant changes in the electronic and optical properties of different materials. Although there is a significant understanding of these phenomena on conventional semiconductors such as silicon and III-V alloys, the role played by the electron-phonon interaction on the photo excited states of novel synthesized layered-materials such as black phosphorus (BP) and its allotropes are in its early stage. Therefore, theoretical studies concerning the exciton-phonon coupling are needed in order to elucidate its role on the optical properties, and consequently, help in the design of novel optoelectronic devices based on these interesting materials. In that sense, this project will use ab-initio density functional theory simulations combined with the many-body perturbation theory that includes a temperature dependent self-energy term that accounts for the electron-phonon interaction in the system. Thus, we will study the exciton-phonon coupling effects on the optical spectrum of w-GaN as well as layered-materials such as BP and its allotropes. By studying w-GaN we will be able to validate the methodology with available experimental measurements. For the case of BP, we will focus on the optical response for different incident light-polarization and number of layers as the anisotropic structure of BP leads to interesting optical properties. In addition, based on Fermi's golden rule, we will explore the role of temperature over the exciton lifetimes as well as exciton extension radius, oscillator strength intensity, and optical transitions which are crucial processes in determining the performance of optoelectronic devices. Finally we will propose a prototypical photovoltaic device based on BP heterostructures and study its performance as a function of temperature. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

VILLEGAS, CESAR E. P.; RODIN, A. S.; CARVALHO, ALEXANDRA; ROCHA, A. R. Two-dimensional exciton properties in monolayer semiconducting phosphorus allotropes. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, v. 18, n. 40, p. 27829-27836, OCT 28 2016. Web of Science Citations: 13.

VILLEGAS, CESAR E. P.; ROCHA, A. R.; MARINI, ANDREA. Electron-phonon scattering effects on electronic and optical properties of orthorhombic GeS. Physical Review B, v. 94, n. 13 OCT 19 2016. Web of Science Citations: 3.

VILLEGAS, CESAR E. P.; ROCHA, A. R.; MARINI, ANDREA. Anomalous Temperature Dependence of the Band Gap in Black Phosphorus. Nano Letters, v. 16, n. 8, p. 5095-5101, AUG 2016. Web of Science Citations: 27.