Metal-semiconductor (semimetal) superlattices on a graphite sheet with vacancies

TL;DR

This paper investigates how periodic vacancies on graphite sheets create metallic waveguides and semimetal or semiconductor regions, significantly altering the electronic spectrum and potentially enabling novel electronic applications.

Contribution

It reveals the formation of metallic waveguides and semimetal/semiconductor regions due to periodic vacancies, a novel insight into graphite's electronic properties.

Findings

Formation of high-density states near Fermi level along vacancy lines

Presence of a gap indicating semimetal or semiconductor behavior perpendicular to vacancy lines

Vacancies induce a significant rearrangement of the electronic spectrum

Abstract

It has been found that periodically closely spaced vacancies on a graphite sheet cause a significant rearrange-ment of its electronic spectrum: metallic waveguides with a high density of states near the Fermi level are formed along the vacancy lines. In the direction perpendicular to these lines, the spectrum exhibits a semimetal or semiconductor character with a gap where a vacancy miniband is degenerated into impurity levels.