Structural, electronic, and optical properties of ZnO1−xSex alloys using first-principles calculations

Abstract

The structural, electronic, and optical properties of binary ZnO, ZnSe compounds, and their ternary ZnO1−xSex alloys are computed using the accurate full potential linearized augmented plane wave plus local orbital (FP-LAPW + lo) method in the rocksalt (B1) and zincblende (B3) crystallographic phases. The electronic band structures, fundamental energy band gaps, and densities of states for ZnO1−xSex are evaluated in the range 0 ≤ x ≤ 1 using Wu—Cohen (WC) generalized gradient approximation (GGA) for the exchange—correlation potential. Our calculated results of lattice parameters and bulk modulus reveal a nonlinear variation for pseudo-binary and their ternary alloys in both phases and show a considerable deviation from Vegard's law. It is observed that the predicted lattice parameter and bulk modulus are in good agreement with the available experimental and theoretical data. We establish that the composition dependence of band gap is semi-metallic in B1 phase, while a direct band gap is observed in B3 phase. The calculated density of states is described by taking into account the contribution of Zn 3d, O 2p, and Se 4s, and the optical properties are studied in terms of dielectric functions, refractive index, reflectivity, and energy loss function for the B3 phase and are compared with the available experimental data.