VASP computational code

The main purpose of quantum-chemical modeling in materials simulation is to obtain necessary input data for the subsequent calculations of thermodynamic and kinetic parameters required for the next steps of multiscale techniques. Quantum-chemical calculations can also be used to predict various physical and chemical properties of the material in hand (the growing film in our case). Under quantum-chemical, we mean here both molecular and solid-state techniques, which are now implemented in numerous computer codes (such as Gaussian [25], GAMESS [26], or NWCHEM [27] for molecular applications and VASP [28], CASTEP [29], or ABINIT [30] for solid-state applications). 

Calculations were performed within the periodic DFT model, using the VASP code[8] (the same computational strategy as in Ref. [9] was adopted, including the B3LYP correction). Thus, calculated interaction energies are of the B3LYP quality and they include ZPVE correction. The unit cell of FER fitted previously was used [10] UC... 

Although the preferred method of calculating a spectrum is to perform an ab initio calculation on an extended solid, extracting frequencies and displacements across the Brillouin zone, on a fine A-grid, this approach can be computationally very expensive. In plane wave codes like CASTEP [18], CPMD [19], TWSCF [20], VASP [21], ABINIT [22], and some others, the number of plane waves that are taken into consideration, the selected correlation fimctional and the choice of pseudopotential will all have an impact on the quality of the calculations. Some codes (e.g. ABINIT) alleviate the problem by permitting frozen phonon calculations at the symmetry zone boundary, i.e. (0,0,0), (l/2,0,0), (l/2,l/2,0) and (l/2,l/2,l/2) and so determine the dynamical matrix at these points. The code then interpolates values of the d3mamical matrix for all the points within the Brillouin zone and uses these to calculate the solution to the vibrational problem inside the zone. 

It is actually possible to use DFT calculations to compute XANES for amorphous and crystalline PCMs. To compute the XANES spectra, we use a new implementation by one of the present authors (V.L.), employing the PAW formalism [44] (as implemented in the VASP code [45, 46]) and including a self-consistent treatment of the core hole effects on the unoccupied states. 

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