Pressure Effects on The Elastic and Lattice Dynamics Properties of AlP from First- Principles Calculations

Abstract

We have performed first-principles calculations to investigate the behavior under hydrostatic pressure of the structural, elastic and lattice dynamics properties of aluminum phosphide crystal (AlP), in both zinc-blende (B3) and nickel arsenide (B8) phases. Our calculated structural and electronic properties are in good agreement with previous theoretical and experimental results. The elastic constants, bulk modulus (B), shear modulus (G), and Young’s modulus (E), Born effective charge and static dielectric constant ϵ0, were calculated with the generalized gradient approximations and the density functional perturbation theory (DFPT). Our results in the pressure behavior of the elastic and dielectric properties of both phases are compared and contrasted with the common III–V materials. The Born effective charge ZB decreases linearly with pressure increasing, while the static dielectric constant decreases quadratically with the increase of pressure.