Zener tunnelling in graphene based semiconductors – the k·p method

The carbon nanotube and graphene nanoribbon band structure is derived using the two-band k · p method and shown to have a similar band structure as a III-V semiconductor. Contrary to a previous claim, it is shown that the tunnelling probability is lower for a graphene based semiconductor than for a III-V semiconductor with the same bandgap. Considering the relation between the bandgap and the effective mass we conclude that a graphene based semiconductor is not well-suited for a classical device which suffers from Zener tunnelling, but is rather promising for a device which has its working principle based on Zener tunnelling.