Strain-controlled fundamental gap and structure of bulk black phosphorus

We study theoretically the structural and electronic response of layered bulk black phosphorus to in-layer strain. Ab initio density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the strain energy and interlayer spacing display a strong anisotropy with respect to the uniaxial strain direction. To correctly describe the dependence of the fundamental band gap on strain, we used the computationally more involved GW quasiparticle approach that is free of parameters and is superior to DFT studies, which are known to underestimate gap energies. We find that the band gap depends sensitively on the in-layer strain and even vanishes at compressive strain values exceeding ≈2%, thus suggesting a possible application of black P in strain-controlled infrared devices.