L. Rosales

Transport properties of two finite armchair graphene nanoribbons

In this work, we present a theoretical study of the transport properties of two finite and parallel armchair graphene nanoribbons connected to two semi-infinite leads of the same material. Using a single Π-band tight binding Hamiltonian and based on Green’s function formalisms within a real space renormalization techniques, we have calculated the density of states and the conductance of these systems considering the effects of the geometric confinement and the presence of a uniform magnetic field applied perpendicularly to the heterostructure. Our results exhibit a resonant tunneling behaviour and periodic modulations of the transport properties as a function of the geometry of the considered conductors and as a function of the magnetic flux that crosses the heterostructure. We have observed Aharonov-Bohm type of interference representing by periodic metal-semiconductor transitions in the DOS and conductance curves of the nanostructures.

Transport properties of graphene quantum dots

In this work we present a theoretical study of transport properties of a double crossbar junction composed by segments of graphene ribbons with different widths forming a graphene quantum dot structure. The systems are described by a single-band tight binding Hamiltonian and the Greens function formalism using real space renormalization techniques. We show calculations of the local density of states, linear conductance and I-V characteristics. Our results depict a resonant behavior of the conductance in the quantum dot structures which can be controlled by changing geometrical parameters such as the nanoribbon segments widths and relative distance between them. By applying a gate voltage on determined regions of the structure, it is possible to modulate the transport response of the systems. We show that negative differential resistance can be obtained for low values of gate and bias voltages applied.

Magnetic-field effects on transport in carbon nanotube junctions

Here we address a theoretical study on the behavior of electronic states of heterojunctions and quantum dots based on carbon nanotubes under magnetic fields. Emphasis is put on the analysis of the local density of states, the conductance, and on the characteristic curves of current voltage. The heterostructures are modeled by joining zigzag tubes through single pentagon-heptagon pair defects, and described within a simple tight-binding calculation. The conductance is calculated using the Landauer formula in the Green-functions formalism. The theoretical approach used incorporates the atomic details of the topological defects by performing an energy relaxation via Monte Carlo calculation. The effect of a magnetic field on the conductance gap of the system is investigated and compared to those of isolated constituent tubes. It is found that the conductance gap of the studied carbon nanotube heterostructure exhibits oscillations as a function of the magnetic flux. However, unlike the pristine tubes case, they are not Aharonov-Bohm periodic oscillations.

Transport properties of graphene nanoribbon heterostructures

We study the electronic and transport properties of heterostructures formed by armchair graphene nanoribbons with intersections of finite length. We describe the system by a tight-binding model and calculate the density of states and the conductance within the Greens function formalism based on real-space renormalization techniques. We show the apparition of interface states and bound states in the continuum which present a strong dependence of the heterostructure geometry. We investigate the effects on the conductance of an external perturbation applied on the edges atoms of the intersection region.

Spin-polarized electrons in bilayer graphene ribbons

We show that a bilayer graphene flake deposited above a ferromagnetic insulator can behave as a spin-filtering device. The ferromagnetic material induces exchange splitting in the graphene flake, and due to the Fano antiresonances occurring in the transmission of the graphene flake as a function of flake length and energy, it is possible to obtain a net spin current. This happens when an antiresonance for one spin channel coincides with a maximum transmission for the opposite spin. We propose these structures as a means to obtain spin-polarized currents and spin filters in graphene-based systems.

Bound states in the continuum: Localization of Dirac-like fermions

We report on the formation of bound states in the continuum for Dirac-like fermions in structures composed by a trilayer graphene flake connected to nanoribbon leads. The existence of this kind of localized states can be proved by combining local density of states and electronic conductance calculations. By applying a gate voltage, the bound states couple to the continuum, yielding a maximum in the electronic transmission. This feature can be exploited to identify bound states in the continuum in graphene-based structures.

Spin and Charge Caloritronics in Bilayer Graphene Flakes with Magnetic Contacts

We investigate the coupling of spin and thermal currents as a means to rise the thermoelectric efficiency of nanoscale graphene devices. We consider nanostructures composed of overlapping graphene nanoribbons with ferromagnetic contacts in different magnetic configurations. Our results show that the charge Seebeck effect is greatly enhanced when the magnetic leads are in an antiparallel configuration, due to the enlargement of the transport gap. However, for the optimization of the charge figure of merit ZT it is better to choose a parallel alignment of the magnetization in the leads, because the electron-hole symmetry is broken in this magnetic configuration. We also obtain the spin-dependent Seebeck coefficient and spin figure of merit. In fact, the spin ZT can double its value with respect to the charge ZT for a wide temperature range, above 300 K. These findings suggest the potential value of graphene nanosystems as energy harvesting devices employing spin currents.

Electron Confinement Induced by Diluted Hydrogen-like Ad-atoms in Graphene Ribbons

We report the electronic properties of two-dimensional systems made of graphene nanoribbons, which are patterned with ad-atoms in two separated regions. Due to the extra electronic confinement induced by the presence of impurities, we find resonant levels, quasi-bound and impurity-induced localized states, which determine the transport properties of the system. Regardless of the ad-atom distribution in the system, we apply band-folding procedures to simple models and predict the energies and the spatial distribution of those impurity-induced states. We take into account two different scenarios: gapped graphene and the presence of randomly distributed ad-atoms in a low dilution regime. In both cases the defect-induced resonances are still detected. Our findings would encourage experimentalists to synthesize these systems and characterize their quasi-localized states by employing, for instance, scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS). Additionally, the resonant transport features could be used in electronic applications and molecular sensing devices.

Enhancement of thermoelectric efficiency by quantum interference effects in trilayer silicene flakes

In recent years, the enhancement of thermoelectric efficiencies has been accomplished in nanoscale systems by making use of quantum effects. We exploit the presence of quantum interference phenomena such as bound states in the continuum and Fano antiresonances in trilayer silicene flakes to produce sharp changes in the electronic transmission of the system. By applying symmetric gate voltages the thermoelectric properties can be tuned and, for particular flake lengths, a great enhancement of the figure of merit can be achieved. We show that the most favorable configurations are those in which the electronic transmission is dominated by the coupling of bound states to the continuum, tuned by an external gate.

Conductance of Armchair GNRs with side-attached organic molecules

In this work we show a theoretical study of the transport properties of armchair graphene nanoribbon at which linear poly-aromatic hydrocarbon molecules (LPHC) are side-attached on the ribbon edge. We describe the system by a tight-binding model and calculate the local density of states and the conductance within the Greens function formalism. We found that the conductance curves reflect the energy spectra of the attached molecules, suggesting that AGNRs could be used as a spectrograph device.