Electro-absorption of silicene and bilayer graphene quantum dots

TL;DR

This study numerically investigates the optical absorption properties of silicene and bilayer graphene quantum dots under an external electric field, revealing shape- and edge-dependent tunable infrared absorption features.

Contribution

It provides new insights into how electric fields and quantum dot geometries influence the optical absorption spectra of silicene and bilayer graphene.

Findings

Zigzag-edged silicene dots show tunable infrared absorption peaks.

Absorption edges shift with electric field, depending on shape and material.

Different shifts observed for triangular and hexagonal quantum dots.

Abstract

We study numerically the optical properties of low-buckled silicene and AB-stacked bilayer graphene quantum dots subjected to an external electric field, which is normal to their surface. Within the tight-binding model, the optical absorption is calculated for quantum dots, of triangular and hexagonal shapes, with zigzag and armchair edge terminations. We show that in triangular silicene clusters with zigzag edges a rich and widely tunable infrared absorption peak structure originates from transitions involving zero energy states. The edge of absorption in silicene quantum dots undergoes red shift in the external electric field for triangular clusters, whereas blue shift takes place for hexagonal ones. In small clusters of bilayer graphene with zigzag edges the edge of absorption undergoes blue/red shift for triangular/hexagonal geometry. In armchair clusters of silicene blue shift of the absorption edge takes place for both cluster shapes, while red shift is inherent for both shapes of the bilayer graphene quantum dots.