Elastic, Mechanical and Ultrasonic Properties of Nanostructured IIIrd Group Phosphides

Abstract

Despite the large number of III–V semiconductor studies reported every year at bulk level, the III–V material characterization at nanoscale is still required to evaluate their potential industrial applications in nanoscale electronic devices, optoelectronic devices, chemical, biosensors, etc. In this work, the non-destructive evaluation-based ultrasonic theoretical approach for the material characterization of nanostructured IIIrd group phosphides, namely indium phosphide (InP), aluminum phosphide (AlP), gallium phosphide (GaP), and boron phosphide (BP) with wurtzite crystal phase, has been reported. The second- and third-order elastic constants (SOECs and TOECs) for IIIrd group phosphides have estimated using the Lennard–Jones potential. The mechanical properties and the ultrasonic investigation of the IIIrd group phosphides materials, e.g., ultrasonic velocities, Grüneisen parameters, acoustic coupling constants, and ultrasonic attenuation, have been performed using the estimated values of SOECs and TOECs. The present investigation indicates that the ultrasonic attenuation of IIIrd group phosphides is influenced by the wave velocities and the chosen material’s thermal conductivity. The other thermophysical parameters like the crystal energy density, the specific heat per unit volume, thermal conductivity, and the Debye temperature of these materials have also been reported at room temperature (300 K). The results indicate that BP is the most robust material and has superior elastic, mechanical, and thermal characteristics.