Abstract: Using first-principles calculations, we investigate the electronic, mechanical, and optical properties of monolayer WTe2. Atomic structure and ground state properties of monolayer WTe2 (T-d phase) are anisotropic which are in contrast to similar monolayer crystals of transition metal dichalcogenides, such as MoS2, WS2, MoSe2, WSe2, and MoTe2, which crystallize in the H-phase. We find that the Poisson ratio and the in-plane stiffness is direction dependent due to the symmetry breaking induced by the dimerization of the W atoms along one of the lattice directions of the compound. Since the semimetallic behavior of the T-d phase originates from this W-W interaction (along the a crystallographic direction), tensile strain along the dimer direction leads to a semimetal to semiconductor transition after 1% strain. By solving the Bethe-Salpeter equation on top of single shot G(0)W(0) calculations, we predict that the absorption spectrum of T-d-WTe2 monolayer is strongly direction dependent and tunable by tensile strain. (C) 2016 AIP Publishing LLC.

Abstract: Using the effective continuum model, the electron energy spectrum of gated bilayer graphene with a step-like region of decoupled graphene layers at the edge of the sample is studied. Different types of coupled-decoupled interfaces are considered, i.e., zigzag (ZZ) and armchair junctions, which result in significant different propagating states. Two non-valley-polarized conducting edge states are observed for ZZ type, which are mainly located around the ZZ-ended graphene layers. Additionally, we investigated both BA-BA and BA-AB domain walls in the gated bilayer graphene within the continuum approximation. Unlike the BA-BA domain wall, which exhibits gapped insulating behaviour, the domain walls surrounded by different stackings of bilayer regions feature valley-polarized edge states. Our findings are consistent with other theoretical calculations, such as from the tight-binding model and first-principles calculations, and agree with experimental observations. Published by AIP Publishing.

Abstract: The mechanical and electronic properties of a graphene membrane placed on top of a triangular superlattice of nanopillars are investigated. We use molecular dynamics simulations to access the deformation fields and the tight-binding approaches to calculate the electronic properties. Ripples form in the graphene layer that span across the unit cell, connecting neighboring pillars, in agreement with recent experiments. We find that the resulting pseudo-magnetic field (PMF) varies strongly across the unit cell. We investigate the dependence of PMF on unit cell boundary conditions, height of the pillars, and the strength of the van der Waals interaction between graphene and the substrate. We find direct correspondence with typical experiments on pillars, showing intrinsic “slack” in the graphene membrane. PMF values are confirmed by the local density of states calculations performed at different positions of the unit cell showing pseudo-Landau levels with varying spacings. Our findings regarding the relaxed membrane configuration and the induced strains are transferable to other flexible 2D membranes.

Abstract: Using first-principles calculations, we study the structural, electronic, and optical properties of pristine BC3. Our results show that BC3 is a semiconductor which can be useful in optoelectronic device applications. Furthermore, we found that the electronic properties of BC3 can be modified by strain and the type of edge states. With increasing thickness, the indirect bandgap decreases from 0.7 eV (monolayer) to 0.27 eV (bulk). Upon uniaxial tensile strain along the armchair and zigzag directions, the bandgap slightly decreases, and with increasing uniaxial strain, the bandgap decreases, and when reaching -8%, a semiconductor-to-metal transition occurs. By contrast, under biaxial strain, the bandgap increases to 1.2 eV in +8% and decreases to zero in -8%. BC3 nanoribbons with different widths exhibit magnetism at the zigzag edges, while, at the armchair edges, they become semiconductor, and the bandgap is in the range of 1.0-1.2 eV. Moreover, we systematically investigated the effects of adatoms/molecule adsorption and defects on the structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of BC3. The adsorption of various adatoms and molecules as well as topological defects (vacancies and Stone-Wales defects) can modify the electronic properties. Using these methods, one can tune BC3 into a metal, half-metal, ferromagnetic-metal, and dilute-magnetic semiconductor or preserve its semiconducting character. Published under license by AIP Publishing.

Abstract: We investigate the electron states in double asymmetric HgTe / Cd x Hg 1 – x Te quantum wells grown along the [ 001 ] direction. The subbands are computed by means of the envelope function approximation applied to the eight-band Kane k . mml:mspace width=“.1em”mml:mspace p model. The asymmetry of the confining potential of the double quantum wells results in a gap opening, which is absent in the symmetric system where it can only be induced by an applied electric field. The bandgap and the subbands are affected by spin-orbit coupling, which is a consequence of the asymmetry of the confining potential. The electron-like and hole-like states are mainly confined in different quantum wells, and the enhanced hybridization between them opens a spin-dependent hybridization gap at a finite in-plane wavevector. We show that both the ratio of the widths of the two quantum wells and the mole fraction of the C d x H g 1 – x Te barrier control both the energy gap between the hole-like states and the hybridization gap. The energy subbands are shown to exhibit inverted ordering, and therefore, a nontrivial topological phase could emerge in the system.

Abstract: Finding a tight-binding (TB) model for a desired solid is always a challenge that is of great interest when, e.g., studying transport properties. A method is proposed to construct TB models for solids using machine learning (ML) techniques. The approach is based on the LCAO method in combination with Slater-Koster (SK) integrals, which are used to obtain optimal SK parameters. The lattice constant is used to generate training examples to construct a linear ML model. We successfully used this method to find a TB model for BiTeCl, where spin-orbit coupling plays an essential role in its topological behavior.

Abstract: In this paper, we examined the effects of proximity-induced interactions such as Rashba spin-orbit coupling and effective Zeeman fields (EZFs) on the optical spectrum of n-type and p-type monolayer (ML)-MoS2. The optical conductivity is evaluated using the standard Kubo formula under random-phase approximation by including the effective electron-electron interaction. It has been found that there exist two absorption peaks in n-type ML-MoS2 and two knife shaped absorptions in p-type ML-MoS2, which are contributed by the inter-subband spin-flip electronic transitions within conduction and valence bands at valleys K and K ' with a lifted valley degeneracy. The optical absorptions in n-type and p-type ML-MoS 2 occur in THz and infrared radiation regimes and the position, height, and shape of them can be effectively tuned by Rashba parameter, EZF parameters, and carrier density. The interesting theoretical predictions in this study would be helpful for the experimental observation of the optical absorption in infrared to THz bandwidths contributed by inter-subband spin-flip electronic transitions in a lifted valley degeneracy monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides system. The obtained results indicate that ML-MoS2 with the platform of proximity interactions make it a promising infrared and THz material for optics and optoelectronics.

Abstract: We present a theoretical investigation on the transport properties of graphene in the presence of high dc driving fields. Considering electron interactions with impurities and acoustic and optical phonons in graphene, we employ the momentum- and energy-balance equations derived from the Boltzmann equation to self-consistently evaluate the drift velocity and temperature of electrons in graphene in the linear and nonlinear response regimes. We find that the current-voltage relation exhibits distinctly nonlinear behavior, especially in the high electric field regime. Under the action of high-fields the large source-drain (sd) current density can be achieved and the current saturation in graphene is incomplete with increasing the sd voltage Vsd up to 3 V. Moreover, for high fields, Vsd>0.1 V, the heating of electrons in graphene occurs. It is shown that the sd current and electron temperature are sensitive to electron density and lattice temperature in the graphene device. This study is relevant to the application of graphene as high-field nano-electronic devices such as graphene field-effect transistors.

Abstract: Ballistic transport of a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in a rectangle shaped wire, subjected to a local nonhomogeneous magnetic field that results from an in-plane magnetized ferromagnetic (FM) strip deposited above the 2DEG, is investigated theoretically. We found a positive magnetoresistance (MR), which exhibits hysteresis behavior with respect to the direction of the magnetic field sweep, in agreement with a recent experiment. This positive MR can be tuned by applying a gate voltage to the FM strip.

Abstract: We study the properties of a capacitive 13.56 MHz discharge with a mixture of Ar/C₂H₂ taking into account the plasmochemistry and growth of heavy hydrocarbons. A hybrid model was developed to combine the kinetic description for electron motion and the fluid approach for negative and positive ion transports and plasmochemical processes. A significant change in plasma parameters related to injection of 5.8% portion of acetylene in argon was observed and analyzed. We found that the electronegativity of the mixture is about 30%. The densities of negatively and positively charged heavy hydrocarbons are sufficiently large to be precursors for the formation of nanoparticles in the discharge volume.

Abstract: The tunneling current has been computed for a cylindrical nanowire tunneling field-effect transistor (TFET) with an all-round gate that covers the source region. Being the underlying mechanism, band-to-band tunneling, mediated by electron-phonon interaction, is pronouncedly affected by carrier confinement in the radial direction and, therefore, involves the self-consistent solution of the Schrodinger and Poisson equations. The latter has been accomplished by exploiting a non-linear variational principle within the framework of the modified local density approximation taking into account the nonparabolicity of both the valence band and conduction band in relatively thick wires. Moreover, while the effective-mass approximation might still provide a reasonable description of the conduction band in relatively thick wires, we have found that the nonparabolicity of the valence band needs to be included. As a major conclusion, it is observed that confinement effects in nanowire tunneling field-effect transistors have a stronger impact on the onset voltage of the tunneling current in comparison with planar TFETs. On the other hand, the value of the onset voltage is found to be overestimated when the valence band nonparabolicity is ignored. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.

Abstract: A simplified quantum mechanical model is developed to investigate quantum transport features such as the electron concentration and the current flowing through a silicon nanowire metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET). In particular, the electron concentration is extracted from a self-consistent solution of the Schrödinger and Poisson equations as well as the ballistic Boltzmann equation which have been solved by exploiting a nonlinear variational principle within the framework of the generalized local density approximation. A suitable action functional has been minimized and details of the implementation and its numerical minimization are given. The current density and its related current-voltage characteristics are calculated from the one-dimensional ballistic steady-state Boltzmann transport equation which is solved analytically by using the method of characteristic curves. The straightforward implementation, the computational speed and the good qualitative behavior of the transport characteristics observed in our approach make it a promising simulation method for modeling quantum transport in nanowire MOSFETs.