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Title: Electrically tunable localized tunneling channels in silicene nanoribbons

Abstract

The topological phase of a silicene nanoribbon holding edge states in the bulk energy gap can be easily broken by an external electric field. Here, we show through low-energy Green's function calculations that it is possible to localize conducting channels anywhere in a silicene nanoribbon by applying an inhomogeneous electric field. The spin degeneracy of these channels can also be broken in the same manner, allowing conduction of spin as well as charge. On this basis, we suggest design of a ternary logic device, which could be used in low-power circuits. Our study demonstrates that silicene and related group IV elements with honeycomb structure could provide a platform for efficient manipulation of spin currents via external electric fields, without the need to switch magnetic fields for spintronics applications.

Authors:
 [1]; ;  [2];  [1];  [3];  [4]
  1. Department of Physics, Tampere University of Technology, P.O. Box 692, 33101 Tampere (Finland)
  2. Department of Physics, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung 80424, Taiwan (China)
  3. Graphene Research Centre and Department of Physics, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117542 (Singapore)
  4. Department of Physics, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts 02115 (United States)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22267753
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Applied Physics Letters
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 104; Journal Issue: 17; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 0003-6951
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY; 36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; ELECTRIC FIELDS; ENERGY GAP; GREEN FUNCTION; HONEYCOMB STRUCTURES; MAGNETIC FIELDS; NANOSTRUCTURES; SPIN; SWITCHES; TUNNEL EFFECT

Citation Formats

Saari, Timo, Huang, Cheng-Yi, Tsai, Wei-Feng, Nieminen, Jouko, Department of Physics, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, Lin, Hsin, and Bansil, Arun. Electrically tunable localized tunneling channels in silicene nanoribbons. United States: N. p., 2014. Web. doi:10.1063/1.4873716.
Saari, Timo, Huang, Cheng-Yi, Tsai, Wei-Feng, Nieminen, Jouko, Department of Physics, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, Lin, Hsin, & Bansil, Arun. Electrically tunable localized tunneling channels in silicene nanoribbons. United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4873716
Saari, Timo, Huang, Cheng-Yi, Tsai, Wei-Feng, Nieminen, Jouko, Department of Physics, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, Lin, Hsin, and Bansil, Arun. 2014. "Electrically tunable localized tunneling channels in silicene nanoribbons". United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4873716.
@article{osti_22267753,
title = {Electrically tunable localized tunneling channels in silicene nanoribbons},
author = {Saari, Timo and Huang, Cheng-Yi and Tsai, Wei-Feng and Nieminen, Jouko and Department of Physics, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts 02115 and Lin, Hsin and Bansil, Arun},
abstractNote = {The topological phase of a silicene nanoribbon holding edge states in the bulk energy gap can be easily broken by an external electric field. Here, we show through low-energy Green's function calculations that it is possible to localize conducting channels anywhere in a silicene nanoribbon by applying an inhomogeneous electric field. The spin degeneracy of these channels can also be broken in the same manner, allowing conduction of spin as well as charge. On this basis, we suggest design of a ternary logic device, which could be used in low-power circuits. Our study demonstrates that silicene and related group IV elements with honeycomb structure could provide a platform for efficient manipulation of spin currents via external electric fields, without the need to switch magnetic fields for spintronics applications.},
doi = {10.1063/1.4873716},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22267753}, journal = {Applied Physics Letters},
issn = {0003-6951},
number = 17,
volume = 104,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Apr 28 00:00:00 EDT 2014},
month = {Mon Apr 28 00:00:00 EDT 2014}
}