First principles study of electronic structure and optical properties of LiMTe2 (M=Al, Ga, In) crystals

The results of first principles calculations of the electronic band structure, density of states and frequency dependent dielectric functions of LiAlTe2. LiGaTe2 and LiInTe2 chalcopyrite crystals are reported. The calculations have been carried out within the density functional theory using norm-conserving pseudopotentials and a plane-wave basis. The peculiarities of the imaginary part epsilon(2)(omega) of the complex permittivity are discussed and interpreted on the basis of the obtained band spectra. Our calculations show that the Ga-containing compound is characterized by the largest optical anisotropy compared to Al- and In-containing compounds and, therefore, is the most promising candidate for nonlinear optical applications among considered crystals. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.