The effect of edge modification of armchair graphene nanoribbons (AGNRs) on the collective excitations are theoretically investigated. The tight-binding method is employed in conjunction with the dielectric function. Unconventional plasmon modes and their association with the flat bands of the specially designed AGNRs are thoroughly studied. We demonstrate the robust relationship between the novel collective excitations and both the type and period of the edge modification. Additionally, we reveal that the main features displayed in the (momentum, frequency)-phase diagrams for both single-particle and collective excitations of AGNRs can be efficiently tuned by edge-extended defects. Our obtained plasmon modes are found to be analogous to magnetoplasmons associated with collective excitations of Landau-quantized electrons. This work provides a unique way to engineer discrete magnetoplasmon-like modes of AGNRs in the absence of magnetic field.
This paper presents electronic spectra of zigzag and armchair graphene nanoribbons calculated within the tight-binding model for pi-electrons. Zigzag and armchair nanoribbons of different edge geometries are considered, with surface perturbation taken into account. The properties of surface states are discussed on the basis of their classification into Tamm states and Shockley states. In armchair nanoribbons surface states are shown to close the energy gap at the Dirac point for certain edge geometries.
Armchair biphenylene nanoribbons are investigated by using density functional theory. The nanoribbon that contains one biphenylene subunit in a unit cell is a semiconductor with a direct band gap larger than 1 eV, while that containing four biphenylene subunits is a metal. The semiconducting nanoribbon has high electron mobility of 57174 cm2V-1s-1, superior to armchair graphene nanoribbons. Negative differential resistance behavior is observed in two electronic devices composed of the semiconducting and metallic nanoribbons. The on/off ratios are in the order of 10^3. All these indicate that a…
In this paper we propose an analytical method to calculate the band structures of graphene-like nanoribbons of the armchair type with arbitrary line defects or uniaxial strains. The model is based on the tight-binding model and the standing wave assumption for the armchair nanoribbons. It gives accurate band results for large supercell systems. Within this method, we analyze different local states near the line defect in the graphene and boron-nitride nanoribbons. We also derive the analytical expression for the local states in a semi-infinite graphene nanoribbon by this method and the transfe…
We use time dependent perturbation theory to study quantum size effects on the terahertz nonlinear response of metallic graphene armchair nanoribbons of finite length under an applied electric field. Our work shows that quantization due to the finite length of the nanoribbon, the applied field profile, and the broadening of the graphene spectrum all play a significant role in the resulting nonlinear conductances. In certain cases, these effects can significantly enhance the nonlinearity over that for infinitely-long metallic armchair graphene nanoribbon.
The conductivity of armchair graphene nanoribbons in the presence of short-range impurities and edge roughness is studied theoretically using the Boltzmann transport equation for quasi-one-dimensional systems. As the number of occupied subbands increases, the conductivity due to short-range impurities converges towards the two-dimensional case. Calculations of the magnetoconductivity confirm the edge-roughness-induced dips at cyclotron radii close to the ribbon width suggested by the recent quantum simulations.
An odd number of zigzag edges in armchair graphene nanoribbons and their mechanical properties (e.g., Young's modulus, Poisson ratio and shear modulus) have potential interest for bandgap engineering in graphene based optoelectronic devices. In this paper, we consider armchair graphene nanoribbons passivated with hydrogen at the armchair edges and then apply the strain for tuning the bandgaps. Using density functional theory calculations, our study finds that the precise control of strain can allow tuning the bandgap from semiconductor to mettalic and then again switching back to semiconductor…
The characteristics of energy band spectrum of armchair graphene nanoribbons in presence of line defect are analyzed within a simple non-interacting tight-binding framework. In metallic nanoribbons an energy gap may or may not appear in the band spectrum depending on the location of the defect line, while in semiconducting ribbons the gaps are customized, yielding the potential applicabilities of graphene nanoribbons in nanoscale electronic devices. With a more general model, we also investigate two-terminal electron transport using Green's function formalism.
Conductance fluctuations produced by the presence of disorder in zigzag and armchair graphene nanoribbons are studied. We show that quantum transport in zigzag nanoribbons takes place via edge states which are exponentially localized, as in the standard Anderson localization problem, whereas for armchair nanoribbons the symmetry of the graphene sublattices produces anomalous localization, or delocalization. We show that these two different electron localizations lead to significant differences of the conductance statistics between zigzag and armchair nanoribbons. In particular, armchair nanori…
We demonstrate the topological properties of the band-gap of armchair graphene nanoribbons in a spatially varying staggered sublattice potential. Several general scaling laws are presented to quantify the band gap variation. It is found that all armchair nanoribbons are described by one of three distinct classes depending on their width, one of which is the well known massless Dirac condition, and the other two we call potentially gapless, and gapless-superlattice. We construct an effective theory which faithfully reproduces these results, and makes explicit the nature of the competing masses …
In this work, electrical and spin properties of armchair silicene nanoribbon (ASiNR) in the presence of charged impurity is studied. The non-equilibrium Green's function along with multi-orbital tight-binding is applied to obtain transmission probability. different type of spin transmission probability in the ASiNR on a substrate is investigated. The charged impurities are located in the underlying substrate. Spin-flip along the channel is calculated by using spin transmission probability. Spin diffusion length in ASiNR for differently charged impurities is obtained and compared with the mean …
We study the conductance of graphene nanoribbons with long-range disorder. Due to the absence of intervalley scattering from the disorder potential, time-reversal symmetry (TRS) can be effectively broken even without a magnetic field, depending on the type of ribbon edge. Even though armchair edges generally mix valleys, we show that metallic armchair nanoribbons possess a hidden pseudovalley structure and effectively broken TRS. In contrast, semiconducting armchair nanoribbons inevitably mix valleys and restore TRS. As a result, in strong disorder metallic armchair ribbons exhibit a perfectly…
We report on the experimental demonstration and electrical characterization of N = 7 armchair graphene nanoribbon (7-AGNR) field effect transistors. The back-gated transistors are fabricated from atomically precise and highly aligned 7-AGNRs, synthesized with a bottom-up approach. The large area transfer process holds the promise of scalable device fabrication with atomically precise nanoribbons. The channels of the FETs are approximately 30 times longer than the average nanoribbon length of 30 nm to 40 nm. The density of the GNRs is high, so that transport can be assumed well-above the percol…
The spin filter capability of a (0,8) armchair graphene nanoribbon with Fe atoms at substitutional sites is investigated by density functional theory in combination with the non-equilibrium Greens function technique. For specific arrangements, a high degree of spin polarization is achieved. These include a single substitution at an edge position or double substitution in the central sector of the transmission element. The possibility of switching between majority and minority spin polarization by changing the double substitution geometry is predicted. Including the bias dependence of the trans…
We study the electronic correlation effects in armchair graphene nanoribbons that have been recently proposed to be the building blocks of spin qubits. The armchair edges give rise to peculiar quantum interferences and lead to quenched kinetic energy of the itinerant carriers at appropriate doping level. This is a beautiful one-dimensional analogy of the Landau-level formation in two dimensions except the magnetic field is not needed here. Combining the techniques of effective field theory and variational wave function approach, we found that the ground state exhibits a new type of flat-band f…
The low-energy spectrum of graphene nanoribbons with armchair edges (armchair nanoribbons) is described as the superposition of two non-equivalent Dirac points of graphene. In spite of the lack of well-separated two valley structures, the single-channel transport subjected to long-ranged impurities is nearly perfectly conducting, where the backward scattering matrix elements in the lowest order vanish as a manifestation of internal phase structures of the wavefunction. For multi-channel energy regime, however, the conventional exponential decay of the averaged conductance occurs. Since the int…
We calculate the polarization function of Dirac fermions in metallic armchair graphene nanoribbons for an arbitrary temperature and doping. We find that at finite temperatures due to the phase space redistribution among inter-band and intra-band electronic transitions in the conduction and valence bands, the full polarization function becomes independent of the temperature and the position of the chemical potential. As a result, for a given width of nanoribbons there exists a single plasmon mode, with the energy dispersion determined by the graphene's fine structure constant. In Coulomb-couple…
The coherent spin-polarized electron transport through a zigzag-edge graphene flake (ZGF), sandwiched between two semi-infinite armchair graphene nanoribbons, is investigated by means of Landauer-Buttiker formalism. To study the edge magnetism of the ZGF, we use the half-filled Hubbard model within the Hartree-Fock approximation. The results show that the junction acts as a spin filter with high degree of spin polarization in the absence of magnetic electrodes and external fields. By applying a gate voltage the spin-filtering efficiency of this device can be effectively controlled and the spin…
Due to the weak spin-orbit interaction and the peculiar relativistic dispersion in graphene, there are exciting proposals to build spin qubits in graphene nanoribbons with armchair boundaries. However, the mutual interactions between electrons are neglected in most studies so far and thus motivate us to investigate the role of electronic correlations in armchair graphene nanoribbon by both analytical and numerical methods. Here we show that the inclusion of mutual repulsions leads to drastic changes and the ground state turns ferromagnetic in a range of carrier concentrations. Our findings hig…
The magnetic and spin transport properties of a carbon chain between two armchair graphene nanoribbon (AGNR) electrodes were studied using tight-binding Hamiltonian, mean-field Hubbard model and Landauer-Butikker formalism. The results showed that only odd-numbered carbon chains show intrinsic magnetic moments in chain-graphene junctions. It was also found that the electronic, magnetic and spin transport properties of carbon chain-graphene junctions strongly depend on the position and the length of the carbon chains between AGNR electrodes. Interestingly, we found a fully spin-polarized transm…
Armchair silicene nanoribbons with width of 9-39 silicon atoms are investigated by using self-consistent field crystal orbital method based on density functional theory. The carrier mobilities obtained from deformation potential theory oscillate with respect to the width and the values are a fraction of what the graphene nanoribbons have. The buckled structure, hydrogen saturation, edge reconstruction as well as edge roughness decrease the carrier mobilities which are explained with the aid of crystal orbitals.
By using analytical solution of a tight-binding model for armchair nanoribbons, it is confirmed that the solution represents the standing wave formed by intervalley scattering and that pseudospin is invariant under the scattering. The phase space of armchair nanoribbon which includes a single Dirac singularity is specified. By examining the effects of boundary perturbations on the wave function, we suggest that the existance of a strong boundary potential is inconsistent with the observation in a recent scanning tunneling microscopy. Some of the possible electron-density superstructure pattern…
We present a microscopic theory for interacting graphene armchair nanoribbon quantum dots. Long range interaction processes are responsible for Coulomb blockade and spin-charge separation. Short range ones, arising from the underlying honeycomb lattice of graphene, smear the spin-charge separation and induce exchange correlations between bulk electrons - delocalized on the ribbon - and single electrons localized at the two ends. As a consequence, entangled end-bulk states where the bulk spin is no longer a conserved quantity occur. Entanglement's signature is the occurrence of negative differe…
Describing by a Hubbard type of model a thin armchair graphene ribbon in the armchair hexagon chain limit, one shows in exact terms, that even if the system does not have flat bands at all, at low concentration a mesoscopic sample can have ferromagnetic ground state, being metallic in the same time. The mechanism is connected to a common effect of correlations and confinement.
We present the analytical solution of the wavefunction and energy dispersion of armchair graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) based on the tight-binding approximation. By imposing hard-wall boundary condition, we find that the wavevector in the confined direction is discretized. This discrete wavevector serves as the index of different subbands. Our analytical solutions of wavefunction and associated energy dispersion reproduce the numerical tight-binding results and the solutions based on the k*p approximation. In addition, we also find that all armchair GNRs with edge deformation have energy gaps, wh…
We calculate the local current density in pristine armchair graphene nanoribbons (AGNRs) with varying width, $N_\mathrm{C}$, employing a density-functional-theory-based ab initio transport formalism. We observe very pronounced current patterns (streamlines) with threefold periodicity in $N_\mathrm{C}$. They arise as a consequence of quantum confinement in the transverse flow direction. Neighboring streamlines are separated by stripes of almost vanishing flow. As a consequence, the response of the current to functionalizing adsorbates is very sensitive to their placement: adsorbates located wit…
We study dc and ac transport along armchair graphene nanoribbons using the ${\bf k\cdot p}$ spectrum and eigenfunctions and general linear-response expressions for the conductivities. Then we contrast the results with those for transport along ordinary waveguides. In all cases we assess the influence of elastic scattering by impurities, describe it quantitatively with a Drude-type contribution to the current previously not reported, and evaluate the corresponding relaxation time for long- and short-range impurity potentials. We show that this contribution dominates the response at very low fre…
We study the transport property for armchair-edge graphene nanoribbons (AGNRs) with an adatom coupling to a semi-infinite quantum wire. Using the nonequilibrium Green's function approach with tight-binding approximation, we demonstrate that the tunneling current through the system is sensitively dependent on both the AGNR width and adatom location. Interestingly, when the adatom locates onto a carbon atom in the 3$j$th chain from the edge of a metallic AGNR, the system shows a transmission gap accompanied by a threshold voltage in $I-V$ curve like a semiconducting AGNR. This effect may be usef…
We report the plasmon dispersion characteristics of intrinsic and extrinsic armchair graphene nanoribbons of atomic width N = 5 using a p_z-orbital tight binding model with third-nearest-neighbor (3nn) coupling. The coupling parameters are obtained by fitting the 3nn dispersions to that of an extended Huckel theory. The resultant massive Dirac Fermion system has a band gap E_g \approx 64 meV. The extrinsic plasmon dispersion relation is found to approach a common dispersion curve as the chemical potential $μ$ increases, whereas the intrinsic plasmon dispersion relation is found to have both en…
We study analytically, based on the tight-binding model, the electronic band structure of armchair AA-stacked bilayer graphene nanoribbons (BLGNRs) in several regimes. We apply hard-wall boundary conditions to determine the discretion dominating on the Bloch wavefunctions in the confined direction. First we consider an ideal case, perfect nanoribbons without any edge deformation, and show that their electronic properties are strongly size-dependent. We find that the narrow armchair AA-stacked BLGNRs (similar to single-layer graphene nanoribbons) may be metallic or semiconducting depending on t…
{\it Ab initio} density functional theory calculations are performed to investigate the electronic structure of MoS$_2$ armchair nanoribbons in the presence of an external static electric field. Such nanoribbons, which are nonmagnetic and semiconducting, exhibit a set of weakly interacting edge states whose energy position determines the band-gap of the system. We show that, by applying an external transverse electric field, $E_\mathrm{ext}$, the nanoribbons band-gap can be significantly reduced, leading to a metal-insulator transition beyond a certain critical value. Moreover, the presence of…
We study the influence of ripple waves originating from the electromechanical effects on spin relaxation caused by electromagnetic fields in armchair and zigzag graphene nanoribbons (GNRs). By utilizing analytical expressions supported by numerical simulations, we show that it is possible to tune the spin flip behaviors ON and OFF due to ripple waves in GNRs for potential applications in straintronic devices. This finding is similar to recently made observations on the design of spintronic devices in III-V semiconductor quantum dots, where the sign change in the effective Land$\mathrm{\acute{e…
Strain fold-like deformations on armchair graphene nanoribbons (AGNRs) can be properly engineered in experimental setups, and could lead to a new controlling tool for gaps and transport properties. Here, we analyze the electronic properties of folded AGNRs relating the electronic responses and the mechanical deformation. An important and universal parameter for the gap engineering is the ribbon percent width variation, i.e., the difference between the deformed and undeformed ribbon widths. AGNRs bandgap can be tuned mechanically in a well defined bounded range of energy values, eventually lead…
We study the confinement of Dirac fermions in armchair graphene nanoribbons by means of a quantum-dot-type electrostatic potential. With the use of specific projection operators, we find exact solutions for some bound states that satisfy appropriate boundary conditions. We show that the energies of these bound states belong either to the gap of valence and conducting bands or they represent BIC's (bound states in the continuum) whose energies are embedded in the continuous spectrum.
We compute the terahertz third-order nonlinear conductance of metallic armchair graphene nanoribbons using time-dependent perturbation theory. Significant enhancement of the intrinsic third-order conductance over the result for instrinsic 2D single-layer graphene is observed over a wide range of temperatures. We also investigate the nonlinear response of extrinsic metallic acGNR with |E_F|<<200 meV. We find that the third-order conductance exhibits a strong Fermi level dependence at low temperatures. A third-order critical field strength of between 1 and 5 kV/m is computed for the Kerr conduct…
Using density functional theory calculations, we have studied the edge-functionalization of armchair graphene nanoribbons (AGNRs) with pentagonal-hexagonal edge structures. While the AGNRs with pentagonal-hexagonal edge structures (labeled (5,6)-AGNRs) are metallic, the edge-functionalized (5,6)-AGNRs with substitutional atoms opens a band gap. We find that the band structures of edge-functionalized (5,6)-N-AGNRs by substitution resemble those of defect-free (N-1)-AGNR at the Γ point, whereas those at the X point show the original ones of the defect-free N-AGNR. The overall electronic structur…
We study graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) with armchair edges in the presence of Rashba spin-orbit interaction (RSOI). We impose the boundary conditions on the tight binding Hamiltonians for bulk graphene with RSOI by means of a sine transform and study in detail the influence of RSOI on the spectra and the spin polarization. We show that the spin polarization perpendicular to the GNR changes sign when reversing the momentum along the GNR if the bands are coupled by strong RSOI. Furthermore, we derive a linearized approximation to the RSOI Hamiltonian and find that only the neighboring modes of an …
We present a theoretical study on narrow armchair graphene nanoribbons (AGNRs) with hydroxyl functionalized edges. Although this kind of passivation strongly affects the structure of the ribbon, a high degree of edge functionalization proves to be particularly stable. An important consequence of the geometric deviations is a severe reduction of the band-gap of the investigated 7-AGNR. This shift follows a linear dependence on the number of added hydroxyl groups per unit cell and thus offers the prospect of a tunable band-gap by edge functionalization. We furthermore cover the behavior of chara…
The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of armchair graphene nanoribbons under a local uniaxial tension are investigated by using first principles quantum transport calculations. It is shown that for a given value of bias-voltage, the resulting current depends strongly on the applied tension. The observed trends are explained by means of changes in the band gaps of the nanoribbons due to the applied uniaxial tension. In the course of plastic deformation, the irreversible structural changes and derivation of carbon monatomic chains from graphene pieces can be monitored by two-probe transport …
We report electronic structure and electric field modulation calculations in the width direction for armchair graphene nanoribbons (acGNRs) using a semi-empirical extended Huckel theory. Important band structure parameters are computed, e.g. effectives masses, velocities and bandgaps. For the three types of acGNRs, the pz orbital tight-binding parameters are extracted if feasible. Furthermore, the effect of electric field in the width direction on acGNRs dispersion is explored. It is shown that for the two types of semiconducting acGNRs, an external electric field can reduce the bandgap to a f…
We consider a single layer graphene nanoribbon with armchair edges in a longitudinally constant external potential and point out that its transport properties can be described by means of an effective non-Hermitian Hamiltonian. We show that this system has some features typical of dissipative systems, namely the presence of exceptional points and of PT-symmetry breaking, although it is not dissipative.
A form of an indirect Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida (RKKY)-like coupling between magnetic on-site impurities in armchair graphene nanoribbons is studied theoretically. The calculations are based on a tight-binding model for a finite nanoribbon system with periodic boundary conditions. A pronounced Friedel-oscillation-like dependence of the coupling magnitude on the impurity position within the nanoribbon resulting from quantum size effects is found and investigated. In particular, the distance dependence of coupling is analysed. For semiconducting nanoribbons, this dependence is exponential-li…
By applying tight binding model, we investigate the electronic and transport properties of randomly distributed Stone-Wales (SW) defects on an armchair graphene nanoribbon (AGNR). We use four different functions, as distribution functions, to generate our SW defected nanoribbons. It is found that defect density can have a major effect on the conductance of our defected system, whilst other configurations such as defect orientation will contribute less. In our investigations. some special geometries are found, which shows interesting electronic and transport properties. These special cases alon…
In this work we present a study on the negative differential resistance behavior and the impact of various deformations {like ripples, twist, wrap} and defects like vacancies and edge roughness on the electronic properties of short-channel MoS2 armchair nanoribbon MOSFETs. The effect of deformation {3 to 7 degree twist or wrap and 0.3 to 0.7 Ang rippling amplitude} and defects on a 10 nm MoS2 ANR FET is evaluated by the density functional tight binding theory and the non-equilibrium Green`s function approach. We study the channel density of states, transmission spectra and the ID VD characteri…
We combine density-functional theory and the nonequilibrium Green's function method to study the thermal conductance of graphene nanoribbons with armchair and zigzag edges. Zigzag ribbons have higher thermal conductance than armchair ribbons of comparable widths due to an anisotropy in phonon dispersion for graphene nanoribbons: low-frequency bands in zigzag ribbons are more dispersive than those in armchair ribbons. The edges with and without hydrogen-passivation modify the atomic structure and ultimately influence the phonon thermal transport differently for the two ribbon types.
In this work, the electronic properties of phosphorene nanoribbons with different width and edge configurations are studied by using density functional theory. It is found that the armchair phosphorene nanoribbons are semiconducting while the zigzag nanoribbons are metallic. The band gaps of armchair nanoribbons decrease monotonically with increasing ribbon width. By passivating the edge phosphorus atoms with hydrogen, the zigzag series also become semiconducting, while the armchair series exhibit a larger band gap than their pristine counterpart. The electronic transport properties of these p…
The band structures of single-layer MoS$_2$ and WS$_2$ present a coupling between spin and valley degrees of freedom that suppresses spin-flip scattering and spin dephasing. Here we show that out-of-plane deformations, such as corrugations or ripples, enhance spin-flip scattering in armchair MoS$_2$ and WS$_2$ nanoribbons. Spin transport in the presence of surface roughness is systematically investigated, employing the non-equilibrium Green's function method along with the tight-binding approximation. Both transmission and conductance have been calculated as a function of surface roughness. Ou…
We propose two schemes of field-effect transistor based on gapped armchair graphene nanoribbons connected to metal leads, by introducing sidearms or on-site gate voltages. We make use of the band gap to reach excellent switch-off character. By introducing one sidearm or on-site gate to the graphene nanoribbon, conduction peaks appear inside the gap regime. By further applying two sidearms or on-site gates, these peaks are broadened to conduction plateaus with a wide energy window, thanks to the resonance from the dual structure. The position of the conduction windows inside the gap can be full…
By analytically constructing the matrix elements of an electron-phonon interaction for the $D$ band in the Raman spectra of armchair graphene nanoribbons, we show that pseudospin and momentum conservation result in (i) a $D$ band consisting of two components, (ii) a $D$ band Raman intensity that is enhanced only when the polarizations of the incident and scattered light are parallel to the armchair edge, and (iii) the $D$ band softening/hardening behavior caused by the Kohn anomaly effect is correlated with that of the $G$ band. Several experiments are mentioned that are relevant to these resu…
We investigate, in the framework of macroscopic Dirac model, the spectrum, charge density and conductivity of metallic armchair graphene nanoribbons in presence of different mass terms. We reveal the conditions and symmetries governing the presence of edge modes in the system. Depending on the mass terms present they are exponentially localized gapless or gapped modes. The latter situation is realized, in particular, for a full Kekule distortion. For this case, we calculate the mean charge and conductivity of the ribbon, and derive the traces of the presence of edge modes suitable for experime…
We study the quasi-bound state and the transport properties in the T-shaped graphene nanoribbon consisting of a metallic armchair-edge ribbon connecting to a zigzag-edge sidearm. We systematically study the condition under which there are quasi-bound states in the system for a wide range of the system size. It is found that when the width of the sidearm is about half of the width of the armchair leads, there is a quasi-bound state trapped at the intersection of the T-shape structure. The quasi-bound states are truly localized in the sidearm but have small continuum components in the armchair l…
Excitonic spectra of armchair graphene nanoribbons (AGNRs) obtained from a full many-body exact diagonalization of the Hubbard model are reported for both longitudinally and transversely polarized photons, thus providing a complete survey of low-energy may-body optical excitations in these systems. The resulting one-photon allowed eigenstates turn out to be well separated in energy from each other but both couple to the same set of two-photon allowed states. The magnitude of the calculated optical oscillator strengths for perpendicular polarization suggest that these optical features can be in…
We develop an analytical approach to the exciton optical absorption for narrow gap armchair graphene nanoribbons (AGNR). We focus on the regime of dominant size quantization in combination with the attractive electron-hole interaction. An adiabatic separation of slow and fast motions leads via the two-body Dirac equation to the isolated and coupled subband approximations. Discrete and continuous exciton states are in general coupled and form quasi Rydberg series of purely discrete and resonance type character. Corresponding oscillator strengths and widths are derived. We show that the exciton …
We present a first-principles study of bare and hydrogen passivated armchair nanoribbons of the puckered single layer honeycomb structures of silicon and germanium. Our study includes optimization of atomic structure, stability analysis based on the calculation of phonon dispersions, electronic structure and the variation of band gap with the width of the ribbon. The band gaps of silicon and germanium nanoribbons exhibit family behavior similar to those of graphene nanoribbons. The edges of bare nanoribbons are sharply reconstructed, which can be eliminated by the hydrogen termination of dangl…
We have obtained and analyzed the electronic states, polarization function and the plasmon excitations for $α- \mathcal{T}_3$-based nanoribbons with armchair termination. The calculated plasmon dispersions strongly depend on the number of the atomic rows across the ribbon, and the presence of the energy gap between the valence and conduction bands which is also determined by the nanoribbon geometry. The bandgap was proven to have the strongest effect on both the plasmon dispersions and their Landau damping. We have also demonstrated that for a small electron doping the plasmon dispersions do n…
Electronic states at the ends of a narrow armchair nanoribbon give rise to a pair of non-locally entangled spins. We propose two experiments to probe these magnetic states, based on magnetometry and tunneling spectroscopy, in which correlation effects lead to a striking, nonlinear response to external magnetic fields. On the basis of low-energy theories that we derive here, it is remarkably simple to assess these nonlinear signatures for magnetic edge states. The effective theories are especially suitable in parameter regimes where other methods such as quantum Monte-Carlo simulations are exce…
