Localized electron states near the armchair edge of graphene

Electron states near graphene edge

The band structure of graphene near the Fermi surface is often well described by the effective mass approximation. In this approach electron wave function obeys the Diractype equation. To describe a number of effects it is necessary to supplement the equation with boundary conditions. Using the Hermiticity and the time reversal symmetry we derive the phenomenological boundary conditions for a m...

Electron-electron and spin-orbit interactions in armchair graphene ribbons.

The effects of intrinsic spin-orbit and Coulomb interactions on low-energy properties of finite width graphene armchair ribbons are studied by means of a Dirac Hamiltonian. It is shown that metallic states subsist in the presence of intrinsic spin-orbit interactions as spin-filtered edge states, in contrast with the insulating behavior predicted for graphene planes. A charge-gap opens due to Co...

Graphene armchair nanoribbon single-electron transistors: The peculiar influence of end states

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 elec...

Electron spin magnetism of zigzag graphene nanoribbon edge states

Armchair or Zigzag? A tool for characterizing graphene edge

Article history: Received 10 November 2010 Accepted 19 November 2010 Available online 4 December 2010