Reprint of : Shot noise fluctuations in disordered graphene nanoribbons near the Dirac point

Random fluctuations of the shot-noise power in disordered graphene nanoribbons are studied. In particular, we calculate the distribution of the shot noise of nanoribbons with zigzag and armchair edge terminations. We show that the shot noise statistics is different for each type of these two graphene structures, which is a consequence of the presence of different electron localizations: while in zigzag nanoribbons electronic edge states are Anderson localized, in armchair nanoribbons edge states are absent, but electrons are anomalously localized. Our analytical results are verified by tight binding numerical simulations with random hopping elements, i.e., off diagonal disorder, which preserves the symmetry of the graphene sublattices.     

Electronic properties of bearded graphene nanoribbons

We investigate the electronic properties of graphene nanoribbons with attachment of bearded bonds as a model of edge modification. The main effect of the addition of the beards is the appearance of additional energy subbands. The originally gapless armchair graphene nanoribbons become semiconducting. On the other hand, the originally semiconducting armchair graphene nanoribbons may or may not change to gapless systems depending on the width. With the inclusion of a transverse electric field, the band structures of bearded graphene nanoribbons are further altered. An electric field creates additional band-edge states, and changes the subband curvatures and spacings. Furthermore, the energy band symmetry about the chemical potential is lifted by the field. With varying width, the bandgap demonstrates a declining zigzag behavior, and touches the zero value regularly. Modifications in the electronic structure are reflected in the density of states. The numbers and energies of the density of state divergent peaks are found to be strongly dependent on the geometry and the electric field strength. The beard also causes electron transfer among different atoms, and alters the probability distributions. In addition, the electron transfers are modified by the electric field. Finally, the field introduces more zero values in the probability distributions, and removes their left–right symmetry.     

单空位缺陷对石墨纳米带电子结构和输运性质的影响

基于第一性原理电子结构和输运性质计算,研究了单空位缺陷对单层石墨纳米带(包括zigzag型和armchair型带)电子性质的影响.研究发现,单空位缺陷使石墨纳米带在费米面上出现一平直的缺陷态能带;单空位缺陷的引入使zigzag型半导体性的石墨纳米带变为金属性,这在能带工程中有重要的应用价值;奇数宽度的armchair型石墨纳米带表现出金属特性,有着很好的导电性能,同时,偶数宽度的armchair型石墨带虽有金属性的能带结构,但却有类似半导体的伏安特性;单空位缺陷使得奇数宽度的armchair石墨纳米带导电 关键词： 石墨纳米带 单空位缺陷 电子结构 输运性质     

One-dimensional method of investigating the localized states in armchair graphene-like nanoribbons with defects

In this paper we propose a type of new analytical method to investigate the localized states in the armchair graphenelike nanoribbons. The method is based on the tight-binding model and with a standing wave assumption. The system of armchair graphene-like nanoribbons includes the armchair supercells with arbitrary elongation-type line defects and the semi-infinite nanoribbons. With this method, we analyze many interesting localized states near the line defects in the graphene and boron-nitride nanoribbons. We also derive the analytical expressions and the criteria for the localized states in the semi-infinite nanoribbons.     

Zigzag型石墨纳米带电子结构和输运性质的第一性原理研究

采用第一性原理电子结构和输运性质计算研究了zigzag型单层石墨纳米带(具有armchair 边缘)的电子结构和输运性质及其边缘空位缺陷效应. 研究发现，完整边缘的zigzag型石墨纳米带是具有一定能隙的半导体带，边缘空位缺陷的存在使得纳米带能隙变小，且缺陷浓度越大，能隙越小，并发生了半导体-金属转变. 利用这些研究结果，将有助于在能带工程中实现其电子结构裁剪.     

Structure, stability, edge states, and aromaticity of graphene ribbons

We determine the stability, the geometry, the electronic, and magnetic structure of hydrogen-terminated graphene-nanoribbon edges as a function of the hydrogen content of the environment by means of density functional theory. Antiferromagnetic zigzag ribbons are stable only at extremely low ultravacuum pressures. Under more standard conditions, the most stable structures are the mono- and dihydrogenated armchair edges and a zigzag edge reconstruction with one di- and two monohydrogenated sites. At high hydrogen concentration "bulk" graphene is not stable and spontaneously breaks to form ribbons, in analogy to the spontaneous breaking of graphene into small-width nanoribbons observed experimentally in solution. The stability and the existence of exotic edge electronic states and/or magnetism is rationalized in terms of simple concepts from organic chemistry (Clar's rule).     

Relative stability of armchair,zigzag and reczag graphene edges on the Ru(0001) surface

The relative stability of armchair, zigzag, and the reconstructed zigzag (reczag) graphene edges was studied using density functional theory with the Perdew, Burke, and Ernzerhof (PBE) exchange correlation functional for graphene nanoribbons in vacuo and on the Ru(0001) surface. Although the reczag edge was found to be more stable in vacuo confirming previous predictions of Koskinen et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 101 (2008) 115502], the relative stability reverses upon adsorption on the Ru(0001) surface. The zigzag edge is more stable than the reczag edge on the surface by about 0.15 eV/Å and the armchair ribbon was found to be approximately isoenergetic with the zigzag ribbon. For all three types of edges, strong edge–Ru interactions are observed that cause the edges to buckle down. The lowered edge height may facilitate C attachments at graphene edges during graphene synthesis.     

Zigzag型石墨纳米带电子结构和输运性质的第一性原理研究

采用第一性原理电子结构和输运性质计算研究了zigzag型单层石墨纳米带(具有armchair 边缘)的电子结构和输运性质及其边缘空位缺陷效应. 研究发现,完整边缘的zigzag型石墨纳米带是具有一定能隙的半导体带,边缘空位缺陷的存在使得纳米带能隙变小,且缺陷浓度越大,能隙越小,并发生了半导体-金属转变. 利用这些研究结果,将有助于在能带工程中实现其电子结构裁剪. 关键词： 石墨纳米带 空位缺陷 电子结构 输运性质     

Theoretical calculation of excitonic binding energies and optical absorption spectra for Armchair graphene nanoribbons

In this paper the excitons of armchair graphene nanoribbons with layers of different width and thickness have been investigated. In this investigation, the band structure and energy gap of armchair graphene nanoribbons have been calculated using a tight-binding model including edge deformation effects (all edge atoms have been passivated with hydrogen atoms). Also, by calculating the conductance in armchair graphene nanoribbons (A-GNRs) optical absorption of armchair graphene nanoribbon in the single-electron approximation has been obtained. Finally, the binding energy of excitons in armchair graphene nanoribbons has been calculated using the Wannier model, Hartree-Fock approximation and the Bethe-Salpeter equation.     

Comparison of Raman spectra and vibrational density of states between graphene nanoribbons with different edges

Vibrational properties of graphene nanoribbons are examined with density functional based tight-binding method and non-resonant bond polarization theory. We show that the recently discovered reconstructed zigzag edge can be identified from the emergence of high-energy vibrational mode due to strong triple bonds at the edges. This mode is visible also in the Raman spectrum. Total vibrational density of states of the reconstructed zigzag edge is observed to resemble the vibrational density of states of armchair, rather than zigzag, graphene nanoribbon. Edge-related vibrational states increase in energy which corroborates increased rigidity of the reconstructed zigzag edge.     

Structure Dependence of Excitonic Effects in Chiral Graphene Nanoribbons

We explore the excitonic effects in chiral graphene nanoribbons(cGNRs), whose edges are composed alternatively of armchair-edged and zigzag-edged segments. For cGNRs dominated by armchair edges, their energy gaps and exciton energies decrease with increasing chirality angles, and they, as functions of widths, oscillate with the period of three, while the exciton binding energies do not have such distinct oscillation. On the other hand,for cGNRs dominated by zigzag edges, all the energy gaps, exciton energies, and exciton binding energies show oscillation properties with their widths, due to the interactions between the edge states localized at the opposite zigzag edges. In addition, the triplet excitons are energy degenerate when the electrons are spin-unpolarized,while the degeneracy split when the electrons are spin-polarized. All the studied cGNRs show strong excitonic effects with the exciton binding energies of hundreds of meV.     

Structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of pristine and oxygen-adsorbed graphene nanoribbons

The structural, electronic and magnetic properties of pristine and oxygen-adsorbed (3,0) zigzag and (6,1) armchair graphene nanoribbons have been investigated theoretically, by employing the ab initio pseudopotential method within the density functional scheme. The zigzag nanoribbon is more stable with antiferromagnetically coupled edges, and is semiconducting. The armchair nanoribbon does not show any preference for magnetic ordering and is semiconducting. The oxygen molecule in its triplet state is adsorbed most stably at the edge of the zigzag nanoribbon. The Stoner metallic behaviour of the ferromagnetic nanoribbons and the Slater insulating (ground state) behaviour of the antiferromagnetic nanoribbons remain intact upon oxygen adsorption. However, the local magnetic moment of the edge carbon atom of the ferromagnetic zigzag ribbon is drastically reduced, due to the formation of a spin-paired C-O bond.     

扶手椅型石墨纳米带的双空位缺陷效应研究

采用基于密度泛函理论的第一性原理电子结构和输运性质计算,研究了扶手椅型石墨纳米带（具有锯齿边缘）的双空位缺陷效应.研究发现：双空位缺陷的存在并没有改变石墨纳米带的金属特性,但改变了费米面附近的能带结构.同时,双空位缺陷的取向对石墨纳米带的输运性质有很重要的影响.对于奇数宽度的纳米带,斜向双空位缺陷使得石墨带导电性能减弱,而垂直双空位能基本保留原有的线性伏安特性,导电性能降低较少;对于偶数宽度的纳米带,斜向双空位缺陷会使石墨带导电性能明显增强,而垂直双空位缺陷则具有完整石墨带的输运性质. 关键词： 石墨纳米带 585双空位缺陷 电子结构 输运性质     

周期性纳米洞内边缘氧饱和石墨烯纳米带的电子特性

利用基于密度泛函理论的第一性原理方法,研究了内边缘氧饱和的周期性凿洞石墨烯纳米带（G NR）的电子特性. 研究结果表明：对于凿洞锯齿形石墨烯纳米带（ZGNRs）,在非磁性态时不仅始终为金属,且金属性明显增强;反铁磁态（AFM）时为半导体的ZGNR,凿洞后可能成为金属;但铁磁态（FM）为金属的ZGNR,凿洞后一般变为半导体或半金属. 而对于凿洞的扶手椅形石墨烯（AGNRs）,其带隙会明显增加. 深入分析发现：这是由于氧原子对石墨烯纳米带边的电子特性有重要的影响,以及颈次级纳米带（NSNR）及边缘次级纳米带（ESNR）的不同宽度及边缘形状（锯齿或扶手椅形）能呈现出不同的量子限域效应. 这些研究对于发展纳米电子器件有重要的意义. 关键词： 石墨烯纳米带 纳米洞 内边缘氧饱和 电子特性     

Novel conductance step in carbon nanotube with wing-like zigzag graphene nanoribbons

Connecting one armchair carbon nanotube(CNT) to several zigzag graphene nanoribbons(ZGNRs) we find that the topologically-protected edge states of ZGNRs and the massless Dirac particle inherited from CNT still hold from the analysis of the band structure and the edge state. Furthermore, the lowest conductance step at the valley bottom increases proportionally with increasing the number of ZGNR wings. A novel conductance step of a peak occurs in the valley, which is two steps higher than the lowest step at the valley bottom. In addition, with increasing the number of ZGNR wings the width of the novel conductance step becomes narrow.     

Edge effects on the characteristics of uranium diffusion on graphene and graphene nanoribbons

The first principles density-functional theoretical calculations of U adatom adsorption and diffusion on a planar graphene and quasi-one-dimensional graphene nanoribbons(GNRs) are performed. An energetic preference is found for U adatom diffusing to the hollow sites of both graphene and GNRs surface. A number of U distinctive diffusion paths either perpendicular or parallel to the ribbon growth direction are examined. The edge effects are evidenced by the calculated energy barriers of U adatom diffusion on armchair and zigzag nanoribbons surfaces. The calculation results indicate that the diffusion of U adatom from the inner site toward the edge site is a feasible process, particularly in zigzagGNR. It is viable to control the initial morphology of nuclear carbon material to retard the diffusion and concentration of nuclides.     

Localized states at zigzag edges of bilayer graphene

We report the existence of zero-energy surface states localized at zigzag edges of bilayer graphene. Working within the tight-binding approximation we derive the analytic solution for the wave functions of these peculiar surface states. It is shown that zero-energy edge states in bilayer graphene can be divided into two families: (i) states living only on a single plane, equivalent to surface states in monolayer graphene and (ii) states with a finite amplitude over the two layers, with an enhanced penetration into the bulk. The bulk and surface (edge) electronic structure of bilayer graphene nanoribbons is also studied, both in the absence and in the presence of a bias voltage between planes.     

The importance of defects for carbon nanoribbon based electronics

The utilization of graphene nanoribbons for next generation nanoelectronics is commonly expected to depend on the controlled synthesis that yields a low density of defects. Edge roughness and vacancies have been shown to have a large impact on the performance of graphene nanoribbon transistors. In contrast, we show how certain defects can be used to enhance the electronic and magnetic properties of graphene nanoribbons. We explore the properties of hybrid graphene nanoribbons with armchair and zigzag features joined by an array of pentagon–heptagon structural defects. The graphene nanoribbons display an increased density of states at the Fermi level, and half metallicity in absence of external fields. (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Large negative differential resistance behavior in arsenene nanoribbons induced by vacant defects

We have studied the electronic structures of arsenene nanoribbons with different edge passivations by employing first-principle calculations. Furthermore, the effects of the defect in different positions on the transport properties of arsenene nanoribbons are also investigated. We find that the band structures of arsenene nanoribbons are sensitive to the edge passivation. The current-voltage characteristics of unpassivated and O-passivated zigzag arsenene nanoribbons exhibit a negative differential resistance behavior, while such a peculiar phenomenon has not emerged in the unpassivated and O-passivated armchair arsenene nanoribbons. The vacant defects on both top and bottom edges in unpassivated armchair arsenene nanoribbon can make its current-voltage characteristic also present a negative differential resistance behavior. After expanding the areas of the top and bottom defects in unpassivated armchair arsenene nanoribbon, the peak-to-valley ratio of the negative differential resistance behavior can be enlarged obviously, which opens another way for the application of arsenene-based devices with a high switching ratio.     

Effect of oxidation of graphene nanoribbons on electronic and magnetic properties

The electronic properties, band gap and ionization potential as well as the energies of the singlet and triplet states of zigzag and armchair graphene nanoribbons are calculated as a function of the number of oxygen atoms on the ribbon employing density functional theory at B3LYP/6-31G* level. The calculated band gaps indicate that both structures are semiconducting. The band gap of the armchair ribbons initially decreases followed by an increase with oxygen number. For zigzag ribbons the band gap decreases with increasing oxygen number whereas the ionization potential increases with oxygen content. In both armchair and zigzag ribbons the ionization potential shows a gradual increase with the number of oxygen atoms. Some of the oxygenated ribbons calculated have triplet ground states and have the density of states at the Fermi level for spin down greater than spin up suggesting the possibility they may be ferromagnetic semiconductors.