Phys.org December 24, 2020
Gallium selenide monolayer has been recently discovered to have an alternative crystal structure and has diverse potential applications in electronics. Researchers in Japan studied the structural stability and electronic states of GaSe monolayer with trigonal-antiprismatic (AP) structure by first-principles calculations. The AP-phase GaSe monolayer was found stable, and the differences in energy and lattice constant were small when compared to those calculated for a GaSe monolayer with conventional trigonal-prismatic (P) structure which was found to be the ground state. Moreover, it was revealed that the relative stability of P-phase and AP-phase GaSe monolayers reverses under tensile strain. These calculation results provide insight into the formation mechanism of AP-phase GaSe monolayers in epitaxially grown GaSe thin films. According to the researchers its physical as well as chemical properties are yet to be discovered…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
The P and AP phases of a GaSe monolayer. Credit: Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.