Density functional theory description of electronic properties of wurtzite zinc oxide

We report calculated, electronic properties of wurtzite zinc oxide (w-ZnO). We solved self-consistently the two inherently coupled equations of density functional theory (DFT), following the Bagayoko, Zhao, and Williams (BZW) method as enhanced by the work of Ekuma and Franklin (BZW-EF). We employed a local density approximation (LDA) potential and the linear combination of atomic orbitals (LCAO). Most of the calculated, electronic properties of w-ZnO are in excellent agreement with experiment, including our zero temperature band gap of 3.39 eV and the electron effective mass. The doubly self-consistent approach utilized in this work points to the ability of theory to predict accurately key properties of semiconductors and hence to inform and to guide the design and fabrication of semiconductor-based devices. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.