0000000000170528
AUTHOR
Jan H. Los
showing 9 related works from this author
Surface segregation trends in transition metal alloys
2013
In this work, we revisit the problem of predicting the surface segregation trends in binary transition metal alloys from the knowledge of the basic features of the pure component $d$-band electronic structure within tight-binding approximation. In contrast to previous trend studies, the present one includes, within the fourth-moment approximation (FMA) of the tight-binding scheme, both the difference in the average band energies (diagonal disorder) and the difference in the band widths (off-diagonal disorder) of the two components. We show that treating on the same footing these two effects is essential for a correct prediction of surface segregation. The presented study, giving a natural l…
Influence of the exchange and correlation functional on the structure of amorphous InSb and In3SbTe2 compounds
2016
We have investigated the structural, vibrational, and electronic properties of the amorphous phase of InSb and In3SbTe2 compounds of interest for applications in phase change non-volatile memories. Models of the amorphous phase have been generated by quenching from the melt by molecular dynamics simulations based on density functional theory. In particular, we have studied the dependence of the structural properties on the choice of the exchange-correlation functional. It turns out that the use of the Becke-Lee-Yang-Parr functional provides models with a much larger fraction of In atoms in a tetrahedral bonding geometry with respect to previous results obtained with the most commonly used P…
Inverse simulated annealing for the determination of amorphous structures
2013
We present a new and efficient optimization method to determine the structure of disordered systems in agreement with available experimental data. Our approach permits the application of accurate electronic structure calculations within the structure optimization. The new technique is demonstrated within density functional theory by the calculation of a model of amorphous carbon.
Thermal rippling behavior of graphane
2012
Thermal fluctuations of single layer hydrogenated graphene (graphane) are investigated using large scale atomistic simulations. By analyzing the mean square value of the height fluctuations $$ and the height-height correlation function $H(q)$ for different system sizes and temperatures we show that hydrogenated graphene is an un-rippled system in contrast to graphene. The height fluctuations are bounded, which is confirmed by a $ H(q) $ tending to a constant in the long wavelength limit instead of showing the characteristic scaling law $ q^{4-\eta} (\eta \simeq 0.85)$ predicted by membrane theory. This unexpected behaviour persists up to temperatures of at least 900 K and is a consequence o…
Inverse simulated annealing: Improvements and application to amorphous InSb
2014
An improved inverse simulated annealing method is presented to determine the structure of complex disordered systems from first principles in agreement with available experimental data or desired predetermined target properties. The effectiveness of this method is demonstrated by revisiting the structure of amorphous InSb. The resulting network is mostly tetrahedral and in excellent agreement with available experimental data.
First principles simulation of amorphous InSb
2013
Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations based on density functional theory have been performed to generate a model of amorphous InSb by quenching from the melt. The resulting network is mostly tetrahedral with a minor fraction ($10%$) of atoms in a fivefold coordination. The structural properties are in good agreement with available x-ray diffraction and extended x-ray-absorption fine structure data and confirm the proposed presence of a sizable fraction of homopolar In-In and Sb-Sb bonds whose concentration in our model amounts to about $20%$ of the total number of bonds.
First-principles study of the amorphous In3SbTe2phase change compound
2013
Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations based on density functional theory were performed to generate amorphous models of the phase change compound In${}_{3}$SbTe${}_{2}$ by quenching from the melt. In-Sb and In-Te are the most abundant bonds with only a minor fraction of Sb-Te bonds. The bonding geometry in the amorphous phase is, however, strongly dependent on the density in the range 6.448--5.75 g/cm${}^{3}$ that we investigated. While at high density the bonding geometry of In atoms is mostly octahedral-like as in the cubic crystalline phase of the ternary compound In${}_{3}$SbTe${}_{2}$, at low density we observed a sizable fraction of tetrahedral-like geometries similar to those pres…
Spiral graphone and one sided fluorographene nano-ribbons
2013
The instability of a free-standing one sided hydrogenated/fluorinated graphene nano-ribbon, i.e. graphone/fluorographene, is studied using ab-initio, semiempirical and large scale molecular dynamics simulations. Free standing semi-infinite arm-chair like hydrogenated/fluorinated graphene (AC-GO/AC-GF) and boat like hydrogenated/fluorinated graphene (B-GO/B-GF) (nano-ribbons which are periodic along the zig-zag direction) are unstable and spontaneously transform into spiral structures. We find that rolled, spiral B-GO and B-GF are energetically more favorable than spiral AC-GO and AC-GF which is opposite to the double sided flat hydrogenated/fluorinated graphene, i.e. graphane/fluorographene…
On the Creeping of Saturated Salt Solutions
2013
Creeping is a well-known but annoying phenomenon in the preparation of crystals from solution, where growing crystallites gradually extend up the walls of the growth vessel. In this process, solution is transported toward the tip of the creeping crystallites, where solvent evaporation takes place and solid material is deposited. In this study, the growth of crystal aggregates extending from evaporating droplets of saturated aqueous solutions of ionic salts, placed on different substrate materials, has been investigated using optical microscopy. It is shown that the rate determining step of the crystallization process is the evaporation of solution, following Fick’s laws. Fresh solution, nec…