Effect of strain on the electronic structure and optical spectra of two-dimensional monolayer GaN.

The effect of compressive strain and tensile strain on the band structure and optical spectra of two-dimensional monolayer GaN has been investigated. Computations were performed within density functional-theory. The results show that tensile two-dimensional monolayer-GaN undergoes an indirect-to-direct transition, which makes the material suitable for light-emitting and laser diodes. The material of interest is found to exhibit different optical properties dependent on the strain. Besides, the absorption band becomes wider and the optical absorption coefficient is reduced negligibly by strain, making two-dimensional-GaN a good candidate for application in photovoltaics and flexible optoelectronics. • The effect of strain on band structure and optical spectra of 2D-GaN is addressed. • The tensile 2D-GaN material undergoes an indirect-to-direct transition. • The 2D-GaN exhibit different and novel fascinating optical properties by strains. • The optical absorption coefficient is deteriorated negligibly by strain. • 2D-GaN is found to be a good candidate for optoelectronics applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]