First-principles study of optoelectronic and thermoelectronic properties of the ScAgC half-Heusler compound

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Main Authors: Solet, Vinod Kumar, Sk, Shamim, Pandey, Sudhir K.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2022
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author Solet, Vinod Kumar
Sk, Shamim
Pandey, Sudhir K.
author_facet Solet, Vinod Kumar
Sk, Shamim
Pandey, Sudhir K.
contents Here, we present a theoretical study in the context of photovoltaic (PV) and thermoelectric (TE) applications of ScAgC. The electronic, optical, and thermoelectric properties have been investigated systematically using density functional theory (DFT) and semi-classical Boltzmann transport theory. DFT calculates a direct band gap of 0.47 eV, whereas the $G_{0}W_{0}$ method estimates a band gap of 1.01 eV. We used parabola fitting to estimate the effective mass values for bands B1 to B4 at $Γ$-point, which are -0.087 (-0.075), -0.17 (-0.27), -0.17 (-0.27), and 0.049 (0.058) along the $Γ$-$X$ ($Γ$-$L$) direction, respectively. Furthermore, the optoelectronic properties are calculated and analyzed over an energy range of 0 to 10 eV. The optical conductivity, refractive index, and dielectric function show strong optical transitions in the visible region. The lowest calculated reflectivity is 0.24 at 4.7 eV, and the highest calculated value of the absorption coefficient is $1.7\times10^{6}$ cm$^{-1}$ at $8.5$ eV. At 300 K, we expect a maximum solar efficiency (SLME) of 33\% at a thickness of $1~μ$m. The lattice part of the thermal conductivity shows a maximum value of 3.8 Wm$^{-1}$K$^{-1}$ at $1200$ K. At 1200 K, for electron doping of $3.9\times10^{21}$ cm$^{-3}$, the maximum value of $S^{2}σ/τ$ is $145 \times 10^{14}$ $μ$WK$^{-2}$cm$^{-1}$s$^{-1}$, while for hole doping of $1.5\times10^{21}$ cm$^{-3}$, it is $123 \times 10^{14}$ $μ$WK$^{-2}$cm$^{-1}$s$^{-1}$. The highest $ZT$ at $1200$ K is expected to be $0.53$, whereas the optimal efficiency is predicted to be $8.5\%$ for cold and hot temperatures of $300$ K and $1200$ K, respectively. The collected results suggest that the ScAgC compound is a potential candidate for renewable energy sources such as solar cell and TE applications
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2207_05661
institution arXiv
publishDate 2022
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle First-principles study of optoelectronic and thermoelectronic properties of the ScAgC half-Heusler compound
Solet, Vinod Kumar
Sk, Shamim
Pandey, Sudhir K.
Materials Science
Strongly Correlated Electrons
Here, we present a theoretical study in the context of photovoltaic (PV) and thermoelectric (TE) applications of ScAgC. The electronic, optical, and thermoelectric properties have been investigated systematically using density functional theory (DFT) and semi-classical Boltzmann transport theory. DFT calculates a direct band gap of 0.47 eV, whereas the $G_{0}W_{0}$ method estimates a band gap of 1.01 eV. We used parabola fitting to estimate the effective mass values for bands B1 to B4 at $Γ$-point, which are -0.087 (-0.075), -0.17 (-0.27), -0.17 (-0.27), and 0.049 (0.058) along the $Γ$-$X$ ($Γ$-$L$) direction, respectively. Furthermore, the optoelectronic properties are calculated and analyzed over an energy range of 0 to 10 eV. The optical conductivity, refractive index, and dielectric function show strong optical transitions in the visible region. The lowest calculated reflectivity is 0.24 at 4.7 eV, and the highest calculated value of the absorption coefficient is $1.7\times10^{6}$ cm$^{-1}$ at $8.5$ eV. At 300 K, we expect a maximum solar efficiency (SLME) of 33\% at a thickness of $1~μ$m. The lattice part of the thermal conductivity shows a maximum value of 3.8 Wm$^{-1}$K$^{-1}$ at $1200$ K. At 1200 K, for electron doping of $3.9\times10^{21}$ cm$^{-3}$, the maximum value of $S^{2}σ/τ$ is $145 \times 10^{14}$ $μ$WK$^{-2}$cm$^{-1}$s$^{-1}$, while for hole doping of $1.5\times10^{21}$ cm$^{-3}$, it is $123 \times 10^{14}$ $μ$WK$^{-2}$cm$^{-1}$s$^{-1}$. The highest $ZT$ at $1200$ K is expected to be $0.53$, whereas the optimal efficiency is predicted to be $8.5\%$ for cold and hot temperatures of $300$ K and $1200$ K, respectively. The collected results suggest that the ScAgC compound is a potential candidate for renewable energy sources such as solar cell and TE applications
title First-principles study of optoelectronic and thermoelectronic properties of the ScAgC half-Heusler compound
topic Materials Science
Strongly Correlated Electrons
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2207.05661