Strained fold assisted transport in graphene systems

TL;DR

This paper investigates how engineered strained folds in graphene influence its electronic transport, revealing enhanced conductance channels, valley polarization, and robustness against disorder, thus advancing straintronics applications.

Contribution

It demonstrates that strained folds create localized states and conductance channels in graphene, which are robust and can be utilized as electronic waveguides, a novel insight for strain engineering.

Findings

Enhanced local density of states along strained folds

States are valley polarized with quasi-ballistic transport

Results persist despite strong edge disorder

Abstract

Deformations in graphene systems are central elements in the novel field of {\it straintronics}. Various strain geometries have been proposed to produce specific properties but their experimental realization has been limited. Because strained folds can be engineered on graphene samples on appropriate substrates, we study their effects on graphene transport properties. We show the existence of an enhanced local density of states (LDOS) along the direction of the strained fold that originates from localization of higher energy states, and provides extra conductance channels at lower energies. In addition to exhibit sublattice symmetry breaking, these states are valley polarized, with quasi-ballistic properties in smooth disorder potentials. We confirmed that these results persist in the presence of strong edge disorder, making these geometries viable electronic waveguides. These findings could be tested in properly engineered experimental settings.