The trend over the last 50 years of down-scaling the silicon transistor to achieve faster computations has led to doubling of the number of transistors and computation speed over about every two years. However, this trend cannot be maintained due to the fundamental limitations of silicon as the main material for the semiconducting industry. Therefore, there is an active search for exploration of alternate materials. Among the possible candidates that can may [sic] be able to replace silicon is graphene which has recently gained the most attention. Unique properties of graphene include exceedingly high carrier mobility, tunable band gap, huge optical density of a monolayer, anomalous quantum Hall effect, and many others. To be suitable for microelectronic applications the material should be semiconductive, i.e. have a non-zero band gap. Pristine graphene is a semimetal, but by the virtue of doping the graphene surface with different molecules and radicals a band gap can be opened. Because the electronic properties of all materials are intimately related to their atomic structure, characterization of molecular and electronic structure of functionalizing groups is of high interest. The ab-inito (from the first principles) calculations provide a unique opportunity to study the influence of the dopants and thus allow exploration of the physical phenomena in functionalized graphene structures. This ability paves the road to probe the properties based on the intuitive structural information only. A great advantage of this approach lies in the opportunity for quick screening of various atomic structures. We conducted a series of ab-inito investigations of graphene functionalized with covalently and hapticly bound groups, and demonstrated possible practical usage of functionalized graphene for microelectronic and optical applications. This investigation showed that it is possible [to] produce band gaps in graphene (i.e., produce semiconducting graphene) of about 1 eV, without degrading the carrier mobility. This was archived by considering the influence of those adducts on electronic band structure and conductivity properties.

<p>Using <i>ab initio</i> electronic structure calculations based on density functional theory the crystal, electronic and magnetic structures of selected materials have been investigated. The materials which are the subjects of these investigations can be divided into two groups. Parts of the investigations have concerned actinides and rare earths, heavy elements with an <i>f</i>-shell electronic configuration. Here the effects of delocalization on EuCo₂P₂ have been studied as well as the effect of including relativistic interactions when calculating the properties of thorium. For EuCo₂P₂ it was found that at a low pressure the valence state of Eu changes from divalent to trivalent with associated effects on the crystal structure and magnetic state.</p><p>The other group of materials investigated are the metal-hydrogen and metal- lithium systems. Both of these have an important technological application in the form of batteries. Here the emphasis of the investigations has been the fundamental understanding of the mechanism of hydrogenation, and a novel theory explaining the driving force behind hydrogenation is suggested. Vanadium hydride, VH_x, has been examined in detail and the reason for the anomalous non-isotropic expansion is explained. A scheme to make vanadium magnetic is also proposed. </p><p>Finally a method based on electron-hole coupled Green's functions has been used to facilitate the comparison between calculated electronic structures and X-ray absorption spectra. In connection to this a novel theory of charge transfer in the X-ray absorption process applied to transition metal oxides and lithium intercalated transition metal oxides is presented.</p>

Using ab initio electronic structure calculations based on density functional theory the crystal, electronic and magnetic structures of selected materials have been investigated. The materials which are the subjects of these investigations can be divided into two groups. Parts of the investigations have concerned actinides and rare earths, heavy elements with an f-shell electronic configuration. Here the effects of delocalization on EuCo2P2 have been studied as well as the effect of including relativistic interactions when calculating the properties of thorium. For EuCo2P2 it was found that at a low pressure the valence state of Eu changes from divalent to trivalent with associated effects on the crystal structure and magnetic state. The other group of materials investigated are the metal-hydrogen and metal- lithium systems. Both of these have an important technological application in the form of batteries. Here the emphasis of the investigations has been the fundamental understanding of the mechanism of hydrogenation, and a novel theory explaining the driving force behind hydrogenation is suggested. Vanadium hydride, VHx, has been examined in detail and the reason for the anomalous non-isotropic expansion is explained. A scheme to make vanadium magnetic is also proposed. Finally a method based on electron-hole coupled Green's functions has been used to facilitate the comparison between calculated electronic structures and X-ray absorption spectra. In connection to this a novel theory of charge transfer in the X-ray absorption process applied to transition metal oxides and lithium intercalated transition metal oxides is presented.

The dilute magnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)As , which is the most interesting and promising material for spintronics applications, has been theoretically studied by using Density Functional Theory. First of all, calculations on GaAs were done and it was found that GaAs is a semiconductor with a direct band gap. The calculated value of the band gap is ~ 0.5eV. Secondly, the material iron was considered and it was confirmed that iron is a ferromagnetic metal with 2.2µB net magnetic moment. Then a magnetic impurity of manganese, Mn was introduced in the nonmagnetic GaAs and it became ferromagnetic with a net magnetic moment of 4µB. The origin of the ferromagnetic behaviour is discussed and also the Curie temperature TC of the material. It appeared that (Ga,Mn)As is a suitable material for DMS but TC has to be increased before (Ga,Mn)As could be used for spintronics applications and on that account some methods of increasing TC are considered at the end. / Den magnetiska halvledaren (Ga,Mn)As som är det mest intressanta och lovande materialet för spinelektroniska tillämpningar har teoretiskt undersökts med hjälp av Täthetsfunktionalteorin. Först gjordes beräkningar på GaAs och det visade sig att GaAs är en halvledare med direkt bandgap. Det beräknade värdet på bandgapet är ca 0.5eV. Sedan var det järn som undersöktes och det blev bekräftat att järn är en ferromagnetisk metall med netto magnetisk moment lika med 2.2μB. Då magnetiska störningar i form av mangan atomer, Mn, infördes i det omagnetiska GaAs blev halvledaren ferromagnetisk med netto magnetisk moment lika med 4μB. Orsakerna till den ferromagnetiska ordningen diskuteras och även Curie temperaturen TC för materialet. Det visade sig att (Ga,Mn)As är ett lämpligt material för tillverkning av magnetiska halvledare men TC måste ökas innan (Ga,Mn)As skulle kunna användas i spinntroniska tillämpningar och av det skälet anges i slutet vissa metoder för att öka TC.

Seltenerd-Eisenpniktide ziehen gegenwärtig großes wissenschaftliches Interesse auf sich, da sie wegen der bei ihnen beobachteten Hochtemperatursupraleitung eine vielversprechende Alternative zu den herkömmlichen Kuprat-Supraleitern darstellen. Neben der Supraleitung weisen diese Systeme ein breites Spektrum magnetischer Eigenschaften auf, die auf dem Wechselspiel von Eisen 3d- und Seltenerd-4f-Elektronen beruhen und teils in Konkurrenz zu, teils aber auch in Koexistenz mit der Supraleitung auftreten. Das theoretische Verständnis dieser Phänomene lässt noch viele Fragen offen, da sich vor allem die 4f-Elektronen infolge ihrer starken räumlichen Lokalisierung und der damit verbundenen hohen Coulomb-Korrelationsenergien einer einfachen Behandlung im Rahmen von Bandstrukturtheorien weitgehend entziehen. Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit winkelaufgelösten Photoemissionsuntersuchungen an CeFe2P2, CeFePO und CeFeP0.3As0.7O, bei denen Schwer-Fermionen-Verhalten bzw. Ferromagnetismus beobachtet werden kann. Die Wechselwirkung der 4f-Elektronen mit dem überwiegend von Fe 3d-Orbitalen abgeleiteten Valenzband spiegelt sich in den Spektren durch das Auftreten dispergierender Strukturen im Bereich der Kondoresonanz wider. Diese werden in der Arbeit auf der Grundlage von LDA-Bandstrukturrechnungen und dem Periodischen Andersonmodell, welches für einfache Fallbeispiele mittels der DMFT (Dynamical Mean Field Theory) gelöst wird, diskutiert. Anhand der experimentellen Beobachtungen wird ein Mechanismus für die in der Verbindungsklasse beobachteten magnetischen Übergänge, basierend auf charakteristischen Unterschieden in der Bandstruktur, vorgeschlagen sowie ein möglicher Zusammenhang mit der Supraleitung diskutiert.

No description available.

The results of photoluminescence (PL) spectra of TlGaS2 single crystal were reported in the 500-1400 nm wavelength and in the 15-115 K temperature range. Three broad PL bands with an asymmetric Gaussian lineshapes were observed to be centered at 568 nm (A-band), 718 nm (B-band) and 1102 nm (C-band). The shift of the emission band peak energy as well as the change of the half-width of the emission band with temperature and excitation laser intensity were also studied. We analyzed the observed results using the configurational coordinate (CC) model. The powder diffraction patterns of TlInS2 and TlGaS2 crystals were obtained and the diffraction data were indexed using CRYSFIRE computer program packet. TlInS2 has hexagonal system with parameters a = 3.83 and c = 14.88 Ao. TlGaS2 has monoclinic system with parameters a = 9.62, b = 4.01 and c = 7.52 Ao with &amp / #946 / = 96.30o. Our diffraction studies at low temperatures did not reveal any phase transition for TlInS2 as reported in the literature. The specific heat capacities of both TlInS2 and TlGaS2 crystals calculated from Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) measurements at low temperatures are reported in the thesis.

O estudo das estruturas de bandas de energia representa um ponto fundamental no entendimento de alguns fenômenos no âmbito da física do estado sólido, tais como luminescências e transporte, entre outros. Estas estruturas podem ser obtidas de diversas formas: através de medidas experimentais, tais como ARPES,1 ou por modelos teóricos.24 Os modelos teóricos se dividem entre métodos ab initio, como o cálculo DFT,5 e métodos efetivos, como o k.p.6, 7 A abordagem DFT é viável para sistemas que vão de poucos átomos (como por exemplo, materiais bulk ) até centenas de átomos (ou mesmo milhares, com restrições quanto às aproximações necessárias). Para sistemas confinados, por ser necessária uma grande quantidade de átomos, o custo computacional torna-se inviável. No método k.p, por outro lado, as interações são descritas por parâmetros em um Hamiltoniano na forma matricial, geralmente fazendo uso de conceitos de simetria e da Teoria de Grupos. Esses parâmetros, entretanto, são obtidos de forma externa à teoria, através de estruturas de bandas pré-calculadas por outros métodos teóricos ou medidas experimentais. A literatura, porém, não apresenta um método de obtenção dos parâmetros k.p para qualquer estrutura cristalina, inviabilizando a construção de novos Hamiltonianos k.p. Outro detalhe é que, mesmo para os Hamiltonianos existentes, a literatura não apresenta parâmetros para todos os materiais, limitando o número de sistemas que podem ser estudados aos materiais cujos parâmetros foram publicados. Neste trabalho propomos um método geral para obter os parâmetros k.p, que consiste em realizar um fitting entre funções originadas na equação secular do Hamiltoniano e combinações das energias provenientes das estruturas de bandas pré-calculadas. Aplicamos o método a estruturas de bandas calculadas via DFT para o GaAs na fase zinc blende e para o InAs na fase wurtzita, obtidas por meio de colaborações. Utilizamos o GaAs zinc blende para testar o método desenvolvido, comprovando sua eficiência e confiabilidade. Devido aos bons resultados obtidos com o mesmo, aplicamos o método ao InAs wurtzita, que não possui parâmetros k.p na literatura, obtendo-os com sucesso. / The study of energy band structures is a key point in the understanding of some phenomena in solid state physics, such as luminescence and transport, among others. Among the different ways of obtaining the band structure can be determined experimentally by ARPES,1 or by theoretical models.24 The theoretical models are divided into ab initio methods such as DFT calculations,5 and effective methods such as k.p.6, 7 The DFT approach is feasible for systems ranging from few atoms (such as bulk materials) to hundreds of atoms (or thousands, if the necessary approximations are performed). To treat confined systems, as a consequence the large number of atoms required, the computational cost becomes prohibitive. In k.p method, on the other hand, the interactions are described by parameters in a Hamiltonian in its matrix form, usually making use of concepts of symmetry and Group Theory. These parameters are obtained externally to theory using pre-calculated band structures by other theoretical methods or experimental measurements. The literature, however, does not present a method of determination of k.p parameters for a general crystal structure, preventing the construction of new k.p Hamiltonians. Furthermore, even for existing Hamiltonian, the literature has no parameters for all materials, limiting the number of systems that can be studied to the number of materials whose parameters have been published. In this work, we propose a general method to obtain the k.p parameters, which consists in performing a fitting of the functions originating from the secular equation of the Hamiltonian and the combined energies from the pre-calculated band structures. We applied the method to band structures calculated via the DFT for the zinc blende phase GaAs and for wurtzite phase InAs, obtained through collaborations. We use the zinc blende GaAs to test the developed method, proving its efficiency and reliability. Due to the good results, we applied the same stencil to successfully obtain InAs wurtzite k.p parameters, not listed in the literature.

Poços e super-redes delta-doping tipo são sistemas semicondutores de interesse considerável tanto para a pesquisa básica como para aplicações em dispositivos. Neste trabalho desenvolvemos um novo método para o cálculo de potenciais e estruturas de bandas deste tipo de sistemas. O método baseia-se na expansão em ondas planas da equação da massa efetiva multibandas, usa matrizes de energia cinética de qualquer tamanho e leva em conta o potencial de troca e correlação de uma maneira mais rigorosa do que em trabalhos anteriores. São calculados perfis de potencial e estrutura de minibandas e subbandas bem como a posição do nível de Fermi de uma série de poços isolados e super-redes delta-doping tipo p. São estudadas também as diferenças entre super-redes delta-doping tipo p e tipo n. A partir deste método foi desenvolvido ainda um procedimento de cálculo de espectros de fotoluminescência dos poços estudados. Este procedimento baseia-se nas forças de oscilador das transições entre os buracos confinados no interior do poço e os elétrons livres da banda de condução. Ele é utilizado para calcular funções envelope, integrais de superposição e espectros de transições diretas e indiretas. Por fim, comparamos espectros calculados teoricamente com resultados experimentais extraídos da literatura. / p-type ro-doping quantum wells and superlattices are semiconductor systems of considerable interest for basic research and device applications. In this work, a method for calculating potentials and band structures of such systems is developed. The method relies on a plane wave expansion of the multiband effective mass equation, uses kinetic energy matrices of any size, and takes exchange correlation into account in a more rigorous way than this was done before. The method is used to calculate potential profiles, subband and miniband structures as well as Fermi level positions for a series of p-type delta-doping quantum wells and superlattices. The differences between n- and p-type delta-doping structures are studied. In addition to this we developed a procedure within this method to ca1culate photoluminescence (PL) spectra of the wells studied. It depends on the oscillator strength between the holes inside the wells and the free electrons on the conduction band. We use this procedure to calculate envelope functions, overlap integrals and direct and indirect transitions spectra. Finally, we compare our theoretical calculations of PL spectra with experimental results extracted from the literature.

Topological insulators and topological crystalline insulators are materials that have a bulk band structure that is gapped, but that also have toplogically protected non-gapped surface states. This implies that the bulk is insulating, but that the material can conduct electricity on some of its surfaces. The robustness of these surface states is a consequence of time-reversal symmetry, possibly in combination with invariance under other symmetries, like that of the crystal itself. In this thesis we review some of the basic theory for such materials. In particular we discuss how topological invariants can be derived for some specific systems. We then move on to do band structure calculations using the tight-binding method, with the aim to see the topologically protected surface states in a topological crystalline insulator. These calculations require the diagonalization of block tridiagonal matrices. We finish the thesis by studying the properties of such matrices in more detail and derive some results regarding the distribution and convergence of their eigenvalues.