Semi-empirical electronic structure method

Making approximations in the Hamiltonian describing the system, e.g. semi-empirical electronic structure methods. 

Following the LCAP scheme in DFT, inverse molecular design methods have also been developed in the frameworks of tight-binding and semi-empirical " electronic structure theories. 

Semi-empirical quantum-mechanical methods combine fundamental theoretical treatments of electronic behavior with parameters obtained from experiment to obtain approximate wavefunctions for molecules composed of hundreds of atoms20-22. Originally developed in response to the need to evaluate the electronic properties of organic molecules, especially those possessing unusual structures and/or chemical reactivity in organic chemistry,... 

It is important to realize that each of the electronic-structure methods discussed above displays certain shortcomings in reproducing the correct band structure of the host crystal and consequently the positions of defect levels. Hartree-Fock methods severely overestimate the semiconductor band gap, sometimes by several electron volts (Estreicher, 1988). In semi-empirical methods, the situation is usually even worse, and the band structure may not be reliably represented (Deak and Snyder, 1987 Besson et al., 1988). Density-functional theory, on the other hand, provides a quite accurate description of the band structure, except for an underestimation of the band gap (by up to 50%). Indeed, density-functional theory predicts conduction bands and hence conduction-band-derived energy levels to be too low. This problem has been studied in great detail, and its origins are well understood (see, e.g., Hybertsen and Louie, 1986). To solve it, however, requires techniques of many-body theory and carrying out a quasi-particle calculation. Such calculational schemes are presently prohibitively complex and too computationally demanding to apply to defect calculations. 

As with the solution of other many-body electronic structure problems, determination of the unperturbed eigenvalues is numerically challenging and involves compromises in the following areas (1) approximations to the hamiltonian to simplify the problem (e.g., use of semi-empirical molecular orbital methods) (2) use of incomplete basis sets (3) neglect of highly excited states (4) neglect of screening effects due to other molecules in the condensed phase. 

The semi-empirical CNDO/2 method has been applied64 to an analysis of the electronic structure and conformation of disulphur decafluoride. The results, in good agreement with the available experimental data, enable the calculation of the electronic terms which determine the shape of the potential surface and a discussion of the electronic non-equivalence of the axial and equatorial fluorine atoms, the chemical bond strength, and the anomalous S—S bond length in the S2F10 molecule. 

As an alternative to ab initio methods, the semi-empirical quantum-chemical methods are fast and applicable for the calculation of molecular descriptors of long series of structurally complex and large molecules. Most of these methods have been developed within the mathematical framework of the molecular orbital theory (SCF MO), but use a number of simplifications and approximations in the computational procedure that reduce dramatically the computer time [6]. The most popular semi-empirical methods are Austin Model 1 (AMI) [7] and Parametric Model 3 (PM3) [8]. The results produced by different semi-empirical methods are generally not comparable, but they often do reproduce similar trends. For example, the electronic net charges calculated by the AMI, MNDO (modified neglect of diatomic overlap), and INDO (intermediate neglect of diatomic overlap) methods were found to be quite different in their absolute values, but were consistent in their trends. Intermediate between the ab initio and semi-empirical methods in terms of the demand in computational resources are algorithms based on density functional theory (DFT) [9]. 

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