Curvature in graphene nanoribbons generates temporally and spatially focused electric currents

TL;DR

This paper reveals that intrinsic curvature in graphene nanoribbons causes highly focused, transient electric currents that can surpass steady-state currents, impacting the design of graphene-based sensors and circuits.

Contribution

It introduces a computational study of curved graphene nanoribbons, uncovering the dynamic focusing of electric currents caused by curvature, which was previously unexplored.

Findings

Curvature blurs the conductance gap and reduces on-off ratio.

Transient currents can exceed steady-state currents by orders of magnitude.

Curvature-induced focusing affects the design of graphene sensors and circuits.

Abstract

Today graphene nanoribbons and other graphene-based nanostructures can be synthesized with atomic precision. But while investigations have concentrated on straight graphene ribbons of fixed crystal orientation, ribbons with intrinsic curvature have remained mainly unexplored. Here, we investigate electronic transport in intrinsically curved graphene nanoribbons coupled to straight leads, using two computational approaches. Stationary approach shows that while the straight leads govern the conductance gap, the presence of curvature blurs the gap and reduces on-off ratio. An advanced time-dependent approach shows that behind the fa\c{c}ade of calm stationary transport the currents run violently: curvature triggers temporally and spatially focused electric currents, to the extent that for short durations single carbon-carbon bonds carry currents far exceeding the steady-state currents in the entire ribbons. Recognizing this focusing is pivotal for a robust design of graphene sensors and circuitries.