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The I2-II-IV-VI4 series of quaternary chalcogenides semiconductors have drawn wide interest for their potential application as solar-cell absorbers. In this paper, we present a study of electronic and optical properties of the equilibrium kesterite structure (KS) of Cu2ZnGeS4 (CZGS) calculated by means of the full potential linearized augmented plane wave method. For this purpose, we used the Wien2k code based on the density functional theory with the generalized gradient approximation (GGA), modified Becke-Johnson exchange potential (mBJ) and the Hubbard potential U. The TB-mBJ is used alone or combined with U (TB-mBJ, and TB-mBJ+U). The results are compared with other theoretical results and the available experimental ones. The obtained results show that the top of the valence band is mainly composed by the Cu d orbital while the bottom of the conduction band is a mixture of Ge s and S p states. It was found that KS-CZGS has a direct band gap of 0.3, 1.8 and 2.0 eV using GGA, GGA+TB-mBJ and GGA+TB-mBJ+U, respectively. It is observed that states exist above the Fermi level (0 eV) with a width of 0.3 and 0.2 eV when we use GGA and GGA+TB-mBJ, while these states come down under the Fermi level when using GGA+TB-mBJ+U. The optical properties are calculated and an almost isotropic behavior is found in contrast to the reported properties of the stannite phase. This behavior can be linked to the charge density and the structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transition Metal Dichalcogenides (TMDs) are one of the most studied two-dimensional materials in the last 5–10 years due to their extremely interesting layer dependent properties. Despite the presence of vast research work on TMDs, the complex relation between the electro-chemical and physical properties make them the subject of further research. Our main objective is to provide a better insight into the electronic structure of TMDs. This will help us better understand the stability of the bilayer post growth homo/hetero products based on the various edge-termination, and different stacking of the two layers. In this regard, two Tungsten (W) based non-periodic chalcogenide flakes (sulfides and selenides) were considered. An in-depth analysis of their different edge termination and stacking arrangement was performed via Density Functional Theory method using VASP software. Our finding indicates the preference of chalcogenide (c-) terminated structures over the metal (m-) terminated structures for both homo and heterobilayers, and thus strongly suggests the nonexistence of the m-terminated TMDs bilayer products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a theoretical investigation of electronic structures, optical and thermoelectric properties of two ternary-layered chalcogenides, MnBiS and FeBiS , by combining the first principles density functional calculations and semi-local Boltzmann transport theory. The calculated electronic band structure have demonstrated that both compounds exhibit indirect band gaps. The optical transitions are explored via the dielectric function (real and imaginary parts) along with other related optical constants including refractive index, reflectivity, and energy loss spectrum. These chalcogenides have exhibited interesting thermoelectric properties such as Seebeck's coefficient, electrical and thermal conductivity, and power factor as function of temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]