Nonradiative Electron-Hole Recombination Rate Is Greatly Reduced by Defects in Monolayer Black Phosphorus: Ab Initio Time Domain Study

We report ab initio time-domain simulations of nonradiative electron-hole recombination and electronic dephasing in ideal and defect-containing monolayer black phosphorus (MBP). Our calculations predict that the presence of phosphorus divacancy in MBP (MBP-DV) substantially reduces the nonradiative recombination rate, with time scales on the order of 1.57 ns. The luminescence line width in ideal MBP of 150 meV is 2.5 times larger than MBP-DV at room temperature, and is in excellent agreement with experiment. We find that the electron-hole recombination in ideal MBP is driven by the 450 cm^-1 vibrational mode, whereas the recombination in the MBP-DV system is driven by a broad range of vibrational modes. The reduced electron-phonon coupling and increased bandgap in MBP-DV rationalize slower recombination in this material, suggesting that electron-phonon energy losses in MBP can be minimized by creating suitable defects in semiconductor device material.