Ab initio calculations of yttrium nitride: structural and electronic properties

Using first principles total energy calculations within the full-potential linearized augmented plane wave method, we have studied the structural and electronic properties of yttrium nitride (YN) in the three phases, namely wurtzite, caesium chloride and rocksalt structures. The calculations are performed at zero and under hydrostatic pressure. In agreement with previous findings, it is found that the favored phase for YN is the rocksalt-like structure. We predict that at zero pressure YN in the rocksalt structure is a semiconductor with an indirect bandgap of 0.8 eV. A phase transition from a rocksalt to a caesium chloride structure is found to occur at ∼134 GPa. Besides, a transition from an indirect (Γ−X) bandgap semiconductor to a direct (X−X) one is predicted at pressure of ∼84 GPa. For the electron effective mass of rocksalt YN, these are the first results, to our knowledge. The information derived from the present study may be useful for the use of YN as an active layer in electronic devices such as diodes and transistors.