Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2018

Abstract

Valence excitation spectra are computed for deep-center silicon-vacancy defects in 3C, 4H, and 6H silicon carbide (SiC), and comparisons are made with literature photoluminescence measurements. Optimizations of nuclear geometries surrounding the defect centers are performed within a Gaussian basis-set framework using many-body perturbation theory or density functional theory (DFT) methods, with computational expenses minimized by a QM/MM technique called SIMOMM. Vertical excitation energies are subsequently obtained by applying excitation-energy, electron-attached, and ionized equation-of-motion coupled-cluster (EOMCC) methods, where appropriate, as well as time-dependent (TD) DFT, to small models including only a few atoms adjacent to the defect center. We consider the relative quality of various EOMCC and TD-DFT methods for (i) energy-ordering potential ground states differing incrementally in charge and multiplicity, (ii) accurately reproducing experimentally measured photoluminescence peaks, and (iii) energy-ordering defects of different types occurring within a given polytype. The extensibility of this approach to transition-metal defects is also tested by applying it to silicon-substituted chromium defects in SiC and comparing with measurements. It is demonstrated that, when used in conjunction with SIMOMM-optimized geometries, EOMCC-based methods can provide a reliable prediction of the ground-state charge and multiplicity, while also giving a quantitative description of the photoluminescence spectra, accurate to within 0.1 eV of measurement for all cases considered.
Abstract ©2018 American Physical Society

Comments

©2018 American Physical Society

Posted on AFIT Scholar in accordance with policies of the publisher and copyright holder for this article, American Physical Society (APS). https://journals.aps.org/copyrightFAQ.html

This article appeared in volume 97 of Phys Rev B and may be found as cited below.

Sourced from the version of record at APS.

DOI

10.1103/physrevb.97.115108

Source Publication

Physical Review B

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