The effect of two ferromagnetic metal stripes on valley polarization of electrons in a graphene

As the key factor for designing the valleytronic devices is to well understand the valley-dependent transport mechanism in graphene, we investigate, in this work, the effect of two ferromagnetic (FM) metal stripes on the valley polarization in a graphene nanostructure with a strain. The nearly 100% valley polarization is observed at certain energy windows and it can be easily controlled through changing the width and the position of the FM stripe as well as the strength of the magnetic field induced by the FM stripe. Our interesting findings reveal the valley-dependent transport mechanism of electrons and promote the realization of the new types of valleytronic devices modulated by the FM stripe and the strain.     

Valley splitting and anomalous Klein tunneling in borophane-based n-p and n-p-n junctions

We analytically investigate the transport properties of electron in borophane-based n-p and n-p-n junctions. When the electron beam in n region go through the n-p junction, the beam will be split into two valley-dependent beam in p region. This comes from the valley-dependent refraction angle induced by the anisotropic band structure of borophane. Interestingly, the behavior of valley splitting can be generated in a borophane-based n-p junction naturally without any external modulation methods. Generally, the Klein tunneling is described as the perfect transmission at a zero incident angle of electron regardless of the width and height of potential barrier. However, in a borophane-based n-p-n junction, the anomalous Klein tunneling, i.e., the perfect transmission exists at a nonzero incident angle, is found due to the anisotropic band structure of borophane. Our work designs an alternative valley splitter and provides an insight into the understanding of the Klein tunneling.     

Influence of the velocity barrier on the massive Dirac electron transport in a monolayer MoS2 quantum structure

Using the transfer matrix method, spin- and valley-dependent electron transport properties modulated by the velocity barrier were studied in the normal/ferromagnetic/normal monolayer MoS₂ quantum structure. Based on Snell’s Law in optics, we define the velocity barrier as ξ=v₂/v₁ by changing the Fermi velocity of the intermediate ferromagnetic region to obtain a deflection condition during the electron transport process in the structure. The results show that both the magnitude and the direction of spin- and valley-dependent electron polarization can be regulated by the velocity barrier. –100% polarization of spin- and valley-dependent electron can be achieved for ξ>1, while 100% polarization can be obtained for ξ<1. Furthermore, it is determined that perfect spin and valley transport always occur at a large incident angle. In addition, the spin- and valley-dependent electron transport considerably depends on the length k_FL and the gate voltage U(x) of the intermediate ferromagnetic region. These findings provide an effective method for designing novel spin and valley electronic devices.     

Valley-dependent electron transport in ferromagnetic/normal/ferromagnetic silicene junction

The electron transport through ferromagnetic/normal/ferromagnetic silicene junction with an induced energy gap is investigated in this work. The energy gap can be tuned by applying electric field or exchange fields due to the buckled structure of silicene. We analyze the local electric field, exchange field, length of normal region-dependence transmission probabilities of four groups and valley conductance. These transmission probabilities and valley conductance can be turned on or off by adjusting the local electric field and exchange field. In particular, a fully valley polarized conductance with 80% transmission is found in this junction, which can be caused by the interplay of valley-dependent massive Dirac electron, the exchange potential and the on-site potential difference of sublattices. Our findings will benefit applications in silicene-based high performance nano-electronics.     

Dependence of valley polarization on Schottky metal stripe in magnetic-strain graphene

We investigate the valley-dependent transport properties of electrons in a magnetic-strain graphene under the modulation of the Schottky metal (SM) stripe. The valley polarization can be achieved in such a graphene due to the effect of the strained barrier rather than the SM stripe. However, the SM stripe can play an important effect on the degree of the valley polarization, which can be easily controlled through changing the position and/or width of the SM stripe. Furthermore, the applied voltage on the SM stripe also can easily modulate the valley polarization. This study is very useful for understanding and designing the valleytronic devices.     

Detection of valley currents in graphene nanoribbons

There are two valleys in the band structure of graphene zigzag ribbons, which can be used to construct valleytronic devices. We studied the use of a T junction formed by an armchair ribbon and a zigzag ribbon to detect the valley-dependent currents in a zigzag graphene ribbon. A current flowing in a zigzag ribbon is divided by the T junction into the zigzag and armchair leads and this separation process is valley dependent. By measuring the currents in the two outgoing leads, the valley-dependent currents in the incoming lead can be determined. The method does not require superconducting or magnetic elements as in other approaches and thus will be useful in the development of valleytronic devices.     

Spin-valley-dependent transport and giant tunneling magnetoresistance in silicene with periodic electromagnetic modulations

The transport property of electrons tunneling through arrays of magnetic and electric barriers is studied in silicene.In the tunneling transmission spectrum, the spin-valley-dependent filtered states can be achieved in an incident energy range which can be controlled by the electric gate voltage. For the parallel magnetization configuration, the transmission is asymmetric with respect to the incident angle θ, and electrons with a very large negative incident angle can always transmit in propagating modes for one of the spin-valley filtered states under a certain electromagnetic condition. But for the antiparallel configuration, the transmission is symmetric about θ and there is no such transmission channel. The difference of the transmission between the two configurations leads to a giant tunneling magnetoresistance(TMR) effect.The TMR can reach to 100% in a certain Fermi energy interval around the electrostatic potential. This energy interval can be adjusted significantly by the magnetic field and/or electric gate voltage. The results obtained may be useful for future valleytronic and spintronic applications, as well as magnetoresistance device based on silicene.     

Observation of quantum Hall "valley Skyrmions"

We report measurements of the interaction-induced quantum Hall effect in a spin-polarized AlAs two-dimensional electron system where the electrons occupy two in-plane conduction band valleys. Via the application of in-plane strain, we tune the energies of these valleys and measure the energy gap of the quantum Hall state at filling factor nu = 1. The gap has a finite value even at zero strain and, with strain, rises much faster than expected from a single-particle picture, suggesting that the lowest energy charged excitations at nu = 1 are "valley Skyrmions."     

A valley-filtering switch based on strained graphene

We investigate valley-dependent transport through a graphene sheet modulated by both the substrate strain and the fringe field of two parallel ferromagnetic metal (FM) stripes. When the magnetizations of the two FM stripes are switched from the parallel to the antiparallel alignment, the total conductance, valley polarization and valley conductance excess change greatly over a wide range of Fermi energy, which results from the dependence of the valley-related transmission suppression on the polarity configuration of inhomogeneous magnetic fields. Thus the proposed structure exhibits the significant features of a valley-filtering switch and a magnetoresistance device.     

双能谷效应对N型掺杂Si基Ge材料载流子晶格散射的影响

性能优越的Si基高效发光材料与器件的制备一直是Si基光电集成电路中最具挑战性的课题之一.Si基Ge材料不仅与成熟的硅工艺相兼容,而且具有准直接带特性,被认为是实现Si基激光器最有希望的材料.对Si基Ge材料N型掺杂的研究有利于提示出其直接带发光增强机理.本文研究了N型掺杂Si基Ge材料导带电子的晶格散射过程.N型掺杂Si基Ge材料具有独特的双能谷(Γ能谷与L能谷)结构,它将通过以下两方面的竞争关系提高直接带导带底电子的占有率:一方面,处于Γ能谷的导带电子通过谷间光学声子的散射方式散射到L能谷;另一方面,处于L能谷的导带电子通过谷内光学声子散射以及二次谷间光学声子散射或者直接通过谷间光学声子散射的方式跃迁到Γ能谷.当掺杂浓度界于10~(17)cm~(-3)到10~(19)cm~(-3)时,适当提高N型掺杂浓度有利于提高直接带Γ能谷导带底电子占有率,进而提高Si基Ge材料直接带发光效率.     

Anisotropic Transport on Monolayer and Multilayer Phosphorene in the Presence of an Electric Field

We demonstrate theoretically the anisotropic quantum transport of electrons through an electric field on monolayer and multilayer phosphorene. Using the long-wavelength Hamiltonian with continuum approximation, we find that the transmission probability for transport through an electric field is an oscillating function of incident angle, electric field intensity, as well as the incident energy of electrons. By tuning the electric field intensity and incident angle, the channels can be transited from opaque to transparent. The conductance through the quantum waveguides depends sensitively on the transport direction because of the anisotropic effective mass, and the anisotropy of the conductance can be tuned by the electric field intensity and the number of layers. These behaviors provide us an efficient way to control the transport of phosphorene-based microstructures.     

Shot Noise in Aharonov-Casher Rings

We investigate the shot noise of electron transport through an Aharonov-Casher ring subject to the Rashba spin-orbit coupling （SOC）. Analytic expressions for the coefficients of reflection and transmission are derived by using the Griffith boundary conditions. For this kind of SOC, the ballistic transport of electrons can be analyzed as two independent spin channels, and both of them have the same transmission and reflection coefficients. The dependences of shot noise and Landauer-Biittiker conductance on controllable factors, including the strength of Rashba SOC, the asymmetrical angle of lead-connection positions, the radius of the rings, and the wave vector （or energy） of the incident Fermi electrons, are explicitly described by some new combined parameters. The ways that the shot noise and conductance vary with Rashba SOC and with asymmetrical angle are demonstrated by numerical simulations, respectively. It is revealed that the shot noise reaches its maximum for the particular situation of half transmission and half reflection and zero shot noise occurs at conductance maxima.     

Electronic transport through zigzag/armchair graphene nanoribbon heterojunctions

The electronic transport properties of a graphene nanoribbon (GNR) are known to be sensitive to its width, edges and defects. We investigate the electronic transport properties of a graphene nanoribbon heterojunction constructed by fusing a zigzag and an armchair graphene nanoribbon (zGNR/aGNR) side by side. First principles results reveal that the heterojunction can be either metallic or semiconducting, depending on the width of the nanoribbons. Intrinsic rectification behaviors have been observed, which are largely sensitive to the connection length between the zGNR and aGNR. The microscopic origins of the rectification behavior have been revealed. We find that the carrier type can alter from electrons to holes with the bias voltage changing from negative to positive; the asymmetrical transmission spectra of electrons and holes induced by the interface defects directly results in the rectification behavior. The results suggest that any methods which can enhance the asymmetry of the transmission spectra between holes and electrons could be used to improve the rectification behavior in the zGNR/aGNR heterojunction. Our findings could be useful for designing graphene based electronic devices.     

典型甚低频电磁波对辐射带高能电子的散射损失效应

辐射带中高能电子与空间甚低频电磁波由于波粒共振相互作用发生投掷角散射, 进而沉降入稠密大气而损失. 为研究甚低频电磁波对辐射带中高能电子的散射作用机制, 本文基于准线性扩散理论, 利用库仑作用和波粒共振相互作用扩散系数的物理模型, 得到了两组典型甚低频电磁波与高能电子波粒共振相互作用的赤道投掷角弹跳周期平均扩散系数, 并分析了甚低频电磁波共振散射作用与大气库仑散射作用对不同磁壳及不同能量的辐射带电子扩散损失的影响规律. 以磁壳参数L=2.2, 能量E=0.5 MeV的辐射带电子作为算例, 采用有限差分方法数值求解扩散方程, 计算分析了电子单向通量和全向通量随时间的沉降损失演化规律. 研究结果表明: 当电子能量大于0.5 MeV, 磁壳参数大于1.6时, 甚低频电磁波的共振散射作用显著; 随着磁壳参数或电子能量的增大, 斜传播甚低频电磁波引起的高阶共振相互作用越来越大; 电子全向通量近似随时间呈指数函数形式衰减.     

Valley-dependent Brewster angles and Goos-Hänchen effect in strained graphene

We demonstrate theoretically how local strains in graphene can be tailored to generate a valley-polarized current. By suitable engineering of local strain profiles, we find that electrons in opposite valleys (K or K') show different Brewster-like angles and Goos-H?nchen shifts, exhibiting a close analogy with light propagating behavior. In a strain-induced waveguide, electrons in K and K' valleys have different group velocities, which can be used to construct a valley filter in graphene without the need for any external fields.     

Ballistic Transport through a Strained Region on Monolayer Phosphorene

We investigate quantum transport of carriers through a strained region on monolayer phosphorene theoretically.The electron tunneling is forbidden when the incident angle exceeds a critical value. The critical angles for electrons tunneling through a strain region for different strengths and directions of the strains are different.Owing to the anisotropic effective masses, the conductance shows a strong anisotropic behavior. By tuning the Fermi energy and strain, the channels can be transited from opaque to transparent, which provides us with an efficient way to control the transport of monolayer phosphorene-based microstructures.     

Design of electron wave filters in monolayer graphene with velocity modulations

We compare the transport properties of electrons in monolayer graphene by modulating the Fermi velocity inside the barrier. A critical transmission angle is found only when the Fermi velocity in the barriers is larger than the one outside the barriers. It is shown that the transmission exhibits periodicity with the incident angle below the critical transmission angle, and attenuates exponentially in the opposite situation. For both situations, peak splitting occurs in the transmission as the number of the velocity barriers increases, and the characteristics of the transmission suggest an interesting application of an excellent band-pass filter. The dependence of the conductance on the Fermi energy through an identical velocity- modulation structure differs wildly with different Fermi velocities of the barrier. The counterpart of the peak splitting is the sharp oscillations in the conductance profile. Furthermore, some oscillations for the multiple barriers are so sharp that the structure may be used as an excellent sensor.     

Spin-polarization and magnetoresistance in graphene-based resonant-tunnelling structures

Spin-dependent transport of relativistic electrons through graphene based double barrier (well) structures with ferromagnetic electrodes have been theoretically investigated. Electron transmission with different spin states is strongly influenced by the incident wave vector, the height (depth) of the barrier and the separation between them. When the angle of the incident electrons is varied from zero to ±π/2, spin polarization varies from zero to 100% with characteristic oscillations that indicate spin anisotropy. Due to Klein tunnelling, spin-polarization is always zero for normal incident electrons; high spin-polarization only occurs at large incident angles. Because the resonance features in the spin-dependent transmission result from resonant electron states in wells or hole states in barriers, the conductance can reach e²/h in this resonant-tunnelling structure.     

基于维格纳方程的电子的古斯-汉欣位移

通过求解电子的维格纳方程研究二维电子气中电子的输运性质。我们发现电子在倾斜入射到势垒界面并反射时, 出现与光波类似的古斯-汉欣位移。通过维格纳方程可以得到电子的瞬态演化, 不仅可以计算古斯-汉欣位移还能研究电子在势垒内部的运动轨迹以及出现稳定古斯-汉欣位移的时间。与稳定相位法得到的古斯-汉欣位移对比发现, 考虑古斯-汉欣位移的界面反射较几何光学反射在时间上有一定迟缓, 这种迟缓与入射角无关, 但会随着势垒宽度的增加而增加; 电子的古斯-汉欣位移与势垒厚度无关, 随着入射角或入射能量的增大而增大。基于此, 我们提出一种电子分束器模型, 向输入端注入初始动能不同的高斯波包, 当电子能量低于0.01 eV时, 约85%的电子运动至第二输出端; 而当电子能量高于0.07 eV时, 约85%的电子运动至第一输出端。     

Angular dependent study on spin transport in magnetic semiconductor heterostructures with Dresselhaus spin–orbit interaction

We investigate theoretically the effects of Dresselhaus spin–orbit coupling (DSOC) on the spin-dependent current and shot noise through II–VI diluted magnetic semiconductor/nonmagnetic semiconductor (DMS/NMS) barrier structures. The calculation of transmission probability is based on an effective mass quantum-mechanical approach in the presence of an external magnetic field applied along the growth direction of the junction and also applied voltage. We also study the dependence of spin-dependent properties on external magnetic field and relative angle between the magnetizations of two DMS layers in CdTe/CdMnTe heterostructures by including the DSOC effect. The results show that the DSOC has great different influence on transport properties of electrons with spin up and spin down in the considered system and this aspect may be utilized in designing new spintronics devices.