Stable Monolayer alpha-Phase of CdTe: Strain-Dependent Properties

Abstract

CdTe is a well known and widely used binary compound for optoelectronic applications. In this study, we propose the thinnest, free standing monolayer of CdTe which holds the tetragonal-PbO (alpha-PbO) symmetry. The structural, electronic, vibrational and strain dependent properties are investigated by means of first principles calculations based on density functional theory. Our results demonstrate that the monolayer alpha-CdTe is a dynamically stable and mechanically flexible material. It is found that the thinnest monolayer crystal of CdTe is a semiconductor with a direct band gap of 1.95 eV, which corresponds to red light in the visible spectrum. Moreover, it is found that the band gap can be tunable under biaxial strain. With its strain-controllable direct band gap within the visible spectrum, stable alpha-phase of monolayer CdTe is a suitable candidate for optoelectronic device applications.

References in corpus (6)

• Electric Field Effect in Atomically Thin Carbon Films
• High Performance Single Layered WSe2 p-FETs with Chemically Doped Contacts
• Titanic Magnetoresistance in WTe2
• Superconductivity in single-layer films of FeSe with a transition temperature above 100 K
• Anomalous Raman Spectra and Thickness Dependent Electronic properties of WSe2
• The Design of Diamond Compton Telescope