# Electron-phonon dynamics in 2D carbon based-hybrids XC (X = Si, Ge, Sn)

## TL;DR

This study investigates electron-phonon interactions in 2D hybrid materials SiC, GeC, and SnC, revealing mode-specific scattering behaviors and ultrafast hot carrier relaxation times relevant for optical applications.

## Contribution

It provides ab initio insights into electron-phonon coupling effects and relaxation dynamics in 2D SiC, GeC, and SnC hybrids, highlighting their potential for optical technologies.

## Key findings

- Electron-phonon scattering is dominated by specific phonon modes in each material.
- Hot carrier thermalization occurs within 90-120 fs after illumination.
- The materials show temperature-dependent electronic band gap behavior.

## Abstract

The effect of the presence of electron-phonon (e-ph) coupling in the SiC, GeC and SnC hybrids is studied in the framework of the ab initio perturbation theory. The electronic bang gap thermal dependence reveals a normal monotonic decrease in the SiC and GeC semiconductors, whereas SnC exhibits an anomalous behavior. The electron line widths were evaluated and the contributions of acoustic and optical phonon modes to the imaginary part of the self-energy were determined. It has been found that the e-ph scattering rates are globally controlled by the out-of-plane acoustic transverse mode ZA in SiC while both ZA and ZO are overriding in GeC. In SnC, the out-of-plane transverse optical mode ZO is the most dominant. The relaxation lifetime of the photo-excited electrons shows that the thermalization of the hot carrier occurs at 90 fs, 100 fs and 120 fs in SiC, GeC and SnC, respectively. The present study properly describes the subpicosecond time scale after sunlight illumination using an approach that requires no empirical data. The results make the investigated structures suitable for providing low cost and high-performance optical communication and monitoring applications using 2D materials.