Transversal electric field effect in multilayer graphene nanoribbon

TL;DR

This paper investigates how a transversal electric field can reversibly modulate the electronic properties of multilayer graphene nanoribbons, inducing phase transitions and band structure transformations useful for device applications.

Contribution

It demonstrates the reversible tuning of bandgap and electronic phases in multilayer AGNRs via an applied electric field, revealing new phenomena like Dirac fermion formation.

Findings

Reversible bandgap modulation with electric field

Semiconductor-to-metal and metal-to-semiconductor transitions

Formation of massless Dirac fermions

Abstract

We study the effect of transversal electric-field (E-field) on the electronic properties of multilayer armchair-graphene-nanoribbon (AGNR). The bandgap in multilayer-AGNRs can be reversibly modulated with the application of E-field. At optimized widths, we obtain a semiconductor (SC) to metallic (M), as well as M-SC transition. The AGNR electronic bands undergo vivid transformations due to the E-field, leading to phenomena such as increase in electron velocity, change in the sign of the electron effective mass, and the formation of linear dispersion with massless Dirac fermions similar to 2D-graphene. These effects are very useful and can be utilized for device applications.