Quasiparticle self-consistent $GW$ electronic band structures of Be-IV-N$_2$ compounds

Abstract: The electronic band structures of BeSiN$_2$ and BeGeN$_2$ compounds are calculated using the quasiparticle self-consistent $GW$ method. The lattice parameters are calculated for the wurtzite based crystal structure commonly found in other II-IV-N$_2$ compounds with the $Pbn$2$_1$ space group. They are determined both in the local density approximation (LDA) and generalized gradient approximation (GGA), which provide lower and upper limits. At the GGA lattice constants, which gives lattice constants closer to the experimental ones, BeSiN$_2$ is found to have an indirect band gap of 6.88 eV and its direct gap at $\Gamma$ is 7.77 eV, while in BeGeN$_2$ the gap is direct at $\Gamma$ and equals 5.03 eV. To explain the indirect gap in BeSiN$_2$, comparisons are made with the parent III-N compound w-BN band structure. The effective mass parameters are also evaluated and found to decrease from BeSiN$_2$ to BeGeN$_2$.