Manifestation of unexpected semiconducting properties in few-layer orthorhombic arsenene

TL;DR

This paper shows that few-layer orthorhombic arsenene acts as an ideal semiconductor with tunable bandgaps and high carrier mobilities, making it promising for electronic device applications.

Contribution

It reveals the semiconducting properties of few-layer orthorhombic arsenene and predicts high mobility and tunable bandgaps based on theoretical modeling.

Findings

Multilayer arsenene behaves as an intrinsic direct bandgap semiconductor (~1 eV).

Bandgaps can be tuned in nanoribbons.

Carrier mobilities can reach several thousand cm^2/V·s with high anisotropy.

Abstract

In this express, we demonstrate few-layer orthorhombic arsenene is an ideal semiconductor. Due to the layer stacking, multilayer arsenenes always behave as intrinsic direct bandgap semiconductors with gap values of around 1 eV. In addition, these bandgaps can be further tuned in its nanoribbons. Based on the so-called acoustic phonon limited approach, the carrier mobilities are predicted to approach as high as several thousand square centimeters per volt-second and simultaneously exhibit high directional anisotropy. All these make few-layer arsenene promising for device applications in semiconducting industry.