Ab initio study of gold-doped zigzag graphene nanoribbons

The electronic transport properties of zigzag graphene nanoribbons (ZGNRs) through covalent functionalization of gold (Au) atoms is investigated by using non-equilibrium Green’s function combined with density functional theory. It is revealed that the electronic properties of Au-doped ZGNRs vary significantly due to spin and its non-inclusion. We find that the DOS profiles of Au-adsorbed ZGNR due to spin reveal very less number of states available for conduction, whereas non-inclusion of spin results in higher DOS across the Fermi level. Edge Au-doped ribbons exhibit stable structure and are energetically more favorable than the center Au-doped ZGNRs. Though the chemical interaction at the ZGNR–Au interface modifies the Fermi level, Au-adsorbed ZGNR reveals semimetallic properties. A prominent qualitative change of the I–V curve from linear to nonlinear is observed as the Au atom shifts from center toward the edges of the ribbon. Number of peaks present near the Fermi level ensures conductance channels available for charge transport in case of Au-center-substituted ZGNR. We predict semimetallic nature of the Au-adsorbed ZGNR with a high DOS peak distributed over a narrow energy region at the Fermi level and fewer conductance channels. Our calculations for the magnetic properties predict that Au functionalization leads to semiconducting nature with different band gaps for spin up and spin down. The outcomes are compared with the experimental and theoretical results available for other materials.     

Ab initio study of the electronic and transport properties of waved graphene nanoribbons

We apply the nonequilibrium Green's function method based on density functional theory to investigate the electronic and transport properties of waved zigzag and armchair graphene nanoribbons. Our calculations show that out-of-plane mechanical deformations have a strong influence on the band structures and transport characteristics of graphene nanoribbons. The computed I-V curves demonstrate that the electrical conductance of graphene nanoribbons is significantly affected by deformations. The relationship between the conductance and the compression ratio is found to be sensitive to the type of the nanoribbon. The results of our study indicate the possibility of mechanical control of the electronic and transport properties of graphene nanoribbons.     

First-principle study of energy band structure of armchair graphene nanoribbons

First-principle calculation is carried out to study the energy band structure of armchair graphene nanoribbons (AGNRs). Hydrogen passivation is found to be crucial to convert the indirect band gaps into direct ones as a result of enhanced interactions between electrons and nuclei at the edge boundaries, as evidenced from the shortened bond length as well as the increased differential charge density. Ribbon width usually leads to the oscillatory variation of band gaps due to quantum confinement no matter hydrogen passivated or not. Mechanical strain may change the crystal symmetry, reduce the overlapping integral of C–C atoms, and hence modify the band gap further, which depends on the specific ribbon width sensitively. In practical applications, those effects will be hybridized to determine the energy band structure and subsequently the electronic properties of graphene. The results can provide insights into the design of carbon-based devices.     

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     

Magnetic properties of armchair graphene nanoribbons: A Monte Carlo study

The magnetic properties of armchair graphene nanoribbons have been studied using a Monte Carlo study. The ground state phase diagrams have been determined for mixed spins S={±2; ±1; 0} and σ={±5/2; ±3/2; ±1/2}. The topologies of the phase diagrams depend on the values of the parameters in the Hamiltonian such as exchange interactions, crystal field and external magnetic field. The some diagrams show some coexistence between regions. The Néel temperature t_N is obtained for different values of layer (n). The effect of reduced exchange interactions between the mixed spins σ and S and reduced crystal field on total magnetization has been given. Magnetic hysteresis cycles are given for different values of n, reduced exchange interactions and reduced temperatures. The double hysteresis loop and superparamagnetism were observed.     

铂掺杂扶手椅型石墨烯纳米带的电学特性研究

本文采用基于密度泛函理论(DFT)的第一性原理计算了铂原子填充扶手椅型石墨烯纳米带(AGNR)中双空位结构的电学性能.计算结果表明: 通过控制铂原子的掺杂位置, 可以实现纳米带循环经历小带隙半导体—金属—大带隙半导体的相变过程; 纳米带边缘位置是铂原子掺杂的最稳定位置, 边缘掺杂纳米带的带隙值随宽度的变化与本征AGNR一样可用三簇曲线表示, 但在较大宽度时简并成两条曲线, 一定程度上抑制了带隙值的振荡; 并且铂原子边缘掺杂导致宽度系数N_a = 3p和3p + 1(p是一个整数)的几个较窄纳米带的带隙中出现杂质能级, 有效地降低了其过大的带隙值. 此外, 铂掺杂AGNR的能带结构对掺杂浓度不是很敏感, 从而降低了对实验精度的挑战. 本文的计算有利于推动石墨烯纳米带在纳米电子学方面的应用.     

Ab initio study of graphene on SiC

Employing density-functional calculations we study single and double graphene layers on Si- and C-terminated 1x1-6H-SiC surfaces. We show that, in contrast with earlier assumptions, the first carbon layer is covalently bonded to the substrate and cannot be responsible for the graphene-type electronic spectrum observed experimentally. The characteristic spectrum of freestanding graphene appears with the second carbon layer, which exhibits a weak van der Waals bonding to the underlying structure. For Si-terminated substrate, the interface is metallic, whereas on C face it is semiconducting or semimetallic for single or double graphene coverage, respectively.     

The complex band structure for armchair graphene nanoribbons

Using a tight binding transfer matrix method,we calculate the complex band structure of armchair graphene nanoribbons.The real part of the complex band structure calculated by the transfer matrix method fits well with the bulk band structure calculated by a Hermitian matrix.The complex band structure gives extra information on carrier’s decay behaviour.The imaginary loop connects the conduction and valence band,and can profoundly affect the characteristics of nanoscale electronic device made with graphene nanoribbons.In this work,the complex band structure calculation includes not only the first nearest neighbour interaction,but also the effects of edge bond relaxation and the third nearest neighbour interaction.The band gap is classified into three classes.Due to the edge bond relaxation and the third nearest neighbour interaction term,it opens a band gap for N=3M 1.The band gap is almost unchanged for N=3M + 1,but decreased for N=3M.The maximum imaginary wave vector length provides additional information about the electrical characteristics of graphene nanoribbons,and is also classified into three classes.     

Carrier generation and recombination rate in armchair graphene nanoribbons

Armchair graphene nanoribbons (A-GNRs), with a tunable energy gap, are an alternative structure for use in optoelectronic devices. The performance of these optoelectronic devices critically depends on the carrier generation and recombination rates, which have been calculated in this paper. Because of the 1D band structure of A-GNRs, carrier scattering, generation and recombination rates in these structures would be completely different from those in 2D graphene sheets. In this paper, using the tight binding model, and by considering the edge deformation and Fermi golden rule, we find the band structure, and the carrier generation and recombination rates for pure A-GNR due to optical and acoustic phonons, as well as Line Edge Roughness (LER) scatterings. The obtained results show that the total generation and recombination rates increase with increasing A-GNR width and eventually saturate for wide ribbons. These rates increase as the carrier concentration is increased (which has been considered homogenous along ribbon width) and temperature. Also, despite the large LER scattering in narrow ribbons, the generation and recombination rates are less for A-GNRs than for graphene sheets. Using this theoretical model, one can find the suitable A-GNR structure for the design of optoelectronic devices.     

Structural stability and electronic properties of Ni-doped armchair graphene nanoribbons

The size dependent electronic properties of armchair graphene nanoribbons (AGNR) with Ni doped atoms have been investigated using spin-unrestricted density functional theory. We predict antiferromagnetic (AFM) ground states for Ni-termination and one edge Ni-doping. The computed formation energy reveals that one edge Ni-terminated AGNR are energetically more favourable as compared to pristine ribbons. One edge substitutional doping is energetically more favourable as compared to centre doping by ∼1 eV whereas both edge doping is unfavourable. The bond length of substitutional Ni atoms is shorter than that of Ni adsorption in GNR, implying a stronger binding for substitutional Ni atoms. It is evident that binding energy is also affected by the coordination number of the foreign atom. The results show that Ni-interaction perturbs the electronic structure of the ribbons significantly, causing enhanced metallicity for all configurations irrespective of doping site. The band structures reveal the separation of spin up and down electronic states indicating towards the existence of spin polarized current in Ni-terminated and one edge doped ribbons. Our calculation predicts that AGNR containing Ni impurities can play an important role for the fabrication of spin filters and spintronic devices.     

单空位缺陷诱导的扶手椅型石墨烯纳米带电学性能的转变

本文基于密度泛函理论的第一性原理计算了单空位缺陷对 扶手椅型石墨烯纳米带电学特性的影响. 计算结果表明: 当单空位位于纳米带边缘位置时, 系统结构最稳定. 不同位置上单空位缺陷的引入都会使得原本为半导体的本征 扶手椅型石墨烯纳米带变成金属性; 随着单空位浓度的减小, 其对纳米带能带结构的影响逐渐减弱; 随着纳米带宽度的增大, 表征其金属性的特征值表现出震荡性的减弱. 单空位缺陷诱导的扶手椅型纳米带的半导体特性到金属特性的转变为石墨烯在 电子器件中的应用提供了理论指导. 关键词： 扶手椅型石墨烯纳米带 单空位缺陷 电学性能     

Voltage-driven electronic transport and shot noise in armchair graphene nanoribbons

We study theoretically shot noise and minimal conductivity of electrons by evanescent states penetrating through clean graphene nanoribbons (GNRs). With increasing of the barrier voltage, we find that the minimum conductivity will increase to 4e²/πh and the maximum Fano factor will increase to 1/3. More interestingly, quantum oscillations can be tuned by the gate voltage and separated by tuning the barrier voltage     

Electronic thermal conductivity of armchair graphene nanoribbons and zigzag carbon nanotubes

Through the Green's function formalism and tight-binding Hamiltonian model calculations, the temperature dependent electronic thermal conductivity (TC) for different diameters of zigzag carbon nanotubes and their corresponding unzipped armchair graphene nanoribbons is calculated. All functional temperature dependencies bear crossovers, for which, at higher temperatures, nanotubes have a slightly higher TC than their derived nanoribbons, while below that crossover, both systems exhibit a significant coincidence over a moderate range of lower temperatures. Noticeably, TC decreases with increasing the width or diameter of the corresponding systems. Also, at low temperatures TC is proportional to the density of states around the Fermi level, and thus increasing for metal or semiconductors of narrower gap cases.     

Structural and electronic properties of armchair graphene nanoribbons functionalized with fluorine

The interaction of armchair graphene nanoribbons (AGNR) with F has been investigated by considering it as a passivating element as well as adatom impurity. The adsorption of F at three different sites viz. bridge (B), top (T) and hole (H) is examined to determine the most stable configuration. It is revealed that F passivation is slightly more favorable than the H passivation of AGNR and it also affects the band gap. Interestingly, F adsorbed AGNR exhibit magnetic ground state which is about 70 meV more favourable over nonmagnetic state. Further, F passivated AGNR exhibit linear I-V characteristic which indicates potential for interconnect applications.     

Electronic transport for armchair graphene nanoribbons with a potential barrier

This paper studies the electronic transport property through a square potential barrier in armchair-edge graphene nanoribbon (AGNR). Using the Dirac equation with the continuity condition for wave functions at the interfaces between regions with and without a barrier, we calculate the mode-dependent transmission probability for both semiconducting and metallic AGNRs, respectively. It is shown that, by some numerical examples, the transmission probability is generally an oscillating function of the height and range of the barrier for both types of AGNRs. The main difference between the two types of systems is that the magnitude of oscillation for the semiconducting AGNR is larger than that for the metallic one. This fact implies that the electronic transport property for AGNRs depends sensitively on their widths and edge details due to the Dirac nature of fermions in the system.     

Electronic transport for armchair graphene nanoribbons with a potential barrier

We theoretically investigate the electronic transport properties through a rectangular potential barrier embedded in armchair-edge graphene nanoribbons (AGNRs) of various widths. Using the Landauer formula and Dirac equation with the continuity conditions for all segments of wave functions at the interfaces between regions inside and outside the barrier, we calculate analytically the conductance and Fano factor for the both metallic and semiconducting AGNRs, respectively. It is shown that, by some numerical examples, at Dirac point the both types of AGNRs own a minimum conductance associated with the maximum Fano factor. The results are discussed and compared with the previous relevant works.     

Spin gapless armchair graphene nanoribbons under magnetic field and uniaxial strain

Using Green＇s function method, we investigate the spin transport properties of armchair graphene nanoribbons （AG- NRs） under magnetic field and uniaxial strain. Our results show that it is very difficult to transform narrow AGNRs directly from semiconductor to spin gapless semiconductors （SGS） by applying magnetic fields. However, as a uniaxial strain is exerted on the nanoribbons, the AGNRs can transform to SGS by a small magnetic field. The combination mode be- tween magnetic field and uniaxial strain displays a nonmonotonic arch-pattern relationship. In addition, we find that the combination mode is associated with the widths of nanoribbons, which exhibits group behaviors.     

The electronic transport properties of defected bilayer sliding armchair graphene nanoribbons

By applying non-equilibrium Green's functions (NEGF) in combination with tight-binding (TB) model, we investigate and compare the electronic transport properties of perfect and defected bilayer armchair graphene nanoribbons (BAGNRs) under finite bias. Two typical defects which are placed in the middle of top layer (i.e. single vacancy (SV) and stone wale (SW) defects) are examined. The results reveal that in both perfect and defected bilayers, the maximum current refers to β-AB, AA and α-AB stacking orders, respectively, since the intermolecular interactions are stronger in them. Moreover it is observed that a SV decreases the current in all stacking orders, but the effects of a SW defect is nearly unpredictable. Besides, we introduced a sequential switching behavior and the effects of defects on the switching performance is studied as well. We found that a SW defect can significantly improve the switching behavior of a bilayer system. Transmission spectrum, band structure, molecular energy spectrum and molecular projected self-consistent Hamiltonian (MPSH) are analyzed subsequently to understand the electronic transport properties of these bilayer devices which can be used in developing nano-scale bilayer systems.     

First principles calculations of armchair graphene nanoribbons interacting with Cu atoms

We have investigated the electronic properties of bare, H-terminated, Cu-terminated and Cu-doped armchair graphene nanoribbons (AGNRs) using ab-initio approach. We found that H-termination enhances the stability and band gap whereas H extraction introduces dangling bands and lowers the band gap making bare ribbons indirect band gap semiconductors. The calculations revealed that strong hybridization between Cu atoms and AGNRs, lessen the band gap for Cu-terminated ribbons and gives rise to metallicity in Cu-doped AGNRs irrespective of their widths. Formation energy of considered ribbons yield that H-terminated AGNRs with lowest formation energy are most energetically favored, next are one edge Cu-terminated ribbons followed by bare ones whereas both edges Cu-doped ribbons are least energetically plausible. We predict that presence of Cu atoms in GNRs, significantly alter the band gap and can be used in band gap engineering of nanoribbons.     

Spin filter properties of armchair graphene nanoribbons with substitutional Fe atoms

ABSTRACT

The spin filter capability of a (0,8) armchair graphene nanoribbon with Fe atoms at substitutional sites is investigated by density functional theory in combination with the non-equilibrium Green's function technique. For specific arrangements, a high degree of spin polarisation is achieved. These include a single substitution at an edge position or double substitution in the central sector of the transmission element. The possibility of switching between majority and minority spin polarisation by changing the double substitution geometry is predicted. Including the bias dependence of the transmission function proves to be essential for correct representation of the spin-resolved current-voltage profiles.