First Principles Study on Electronic and Optical Properties of Quinary Copper-based Sulfides and Selenides Cu2HgGe(S1-xSex)4

Electronic and optical properties of Cu2HgGe(S1-xSex)4 compounds (x = 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, and 1) were revealed by density functional theory (DFT), in which the Heyd-Scuseria-Ernzerhof hybrid functional was used. Dependence of band gap on the Se constituent in Cu2HgGe(S1-xSex)4 was reported. The substitution of Se element basically cause a slightly lattice expansion and minor change of the band gap. Meanwhile, the overlap of Cu and S/Se states becomes more dense leading to better electron/hole pair separation and inter-band transition of photo-excited electrons. The Cu2HgGe(S0.75Se0.25)4 compound was predicted to be very promising absorber due to the low band gap, high absorption rate, and low reflectivity in the incoming light energy range from 0 eV to 2 eV.