Optical properties of germanium dioxide in the rutile structure

We present first-principles calculations for the optical properties of germanium dioxide in the rutile structure. The electronic band structure has been calculated self-consistently within the local density approximation using the full-potential linearized augmented plane wave method. The electronic band structure shows that the fundamental energy gap is direct at the center of the Brillouin zone. The determinant role of a band structure computation with respect to the analysis of the optical properties is discussed. Copyright EDP Sciences/Società Italiana di Fisica/Springer-Verlag 2005