A new direct band gap silicon allotrope o-Si32

Silicon is a preferred material in solar cells, and most of silicon allotropes have an indirect band gap. Therefore, it is important to find new direct band gap silicon. In the present work, a new direct band gap silicon allotrope of o-Si32 is discovered. The elastic constants, elastic anisotropy, phonon spectra, and electronic structure of o-Si32 are obtained using first-principles calculations. The results show that o-Si32 is mechanically and dynamically stable and is a direct semiconductor material with a band gap of 1.261 eV.