Quasiparticle electronic and optical properties of the Si-Sn system

The Si_1-xSn_x material system is an interesting candidate for an optically active material compatible with Si. Based on density functional theory with quasiparticle corrections we calculate the electronic band structure of zinc-blende SiSn under both compressive and tensile strain. At 2.2% tensile strain the band gap becomes direct with a magnitude of 0.85 eV. We develop an accurate tight-binding parameterization of the electronic structure and calculate the optical properties of SiSn. Furthermore, the silicide SiSn₂ is investigated and found to have metallic character.