Tuning the electronic and optical properties of XP(X = Al,Ga) monolayer semiconductors using biaxial strain effect: Modified Becke-Johnson calculations

Highlights: • The electronic and the optical properties of XP(X = Al,Ga) monolayer semiconductors under strain condition are investigated. • The modified Becke-Johnson calculations (MBJ) is employed. • The electronic properties of the XP(X = Al,Ga) monolayer semiconductors can be tuned effectively by strain effect. In this paper, based on full potential density functional theory calculations, the electronic and optical properties of aluminium and gallium phosphide (AlP and GaP) graphene-like structures are investigated under different biaxial compressive and tensile strain loads. One of the fascinating properties of these new monolayers is their high stretch-ability and high mechanosensitivity of their electronic and optical features. The electronic calculations display that the energy gap of materials versus the exerted strain can be estimated by a second order polynomial equation. Furthermore, the optical calculations indicate that the electronic and optical gap of AlP and GaP monolayers can be tuned by biaxial strain loads.