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Silicene and germanene on InSe substrates: structures and tunable electronic properties
Yingcai Fan1, Xiaobiao Liu, Junru Wang
1Department of Assets Management, School of Information and Electronic Engineering, Shandong Technology and Business University, Yantai 264005, China. fanyingcai@gmail.com.
Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics : PCCP
|April 13, 2018
Summary
Indium selenide (InSe) nanosheets provide a stable substrate for silicene and germanene, creating van der Waals heterolayers. These materials exhibit tunable electronic properties, making them promising for future electronic devices.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Two-dimensional (2D) materials like silicene and germanene hold great promise for next-generation electronics.
- Finding suitable substrates that preserve their unique electronic properties is crucial for their practical application.
- Indium selenide (InSe) is a recently synthesized 2D van der Waals layered material.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the potential of indium selenide (InSe) nanosheets as a substrate for silicene and germanene.
- To analyze the structural and electronic properties of silicene/InSe (Si/InSe) and germanene/InSe (Ge/InSe) heterolayers.
- To explore the tunability of these heterolayers' electronic properties via external stimuli.
Main Methods:
- First-principles calculations were employed to simulate and analyze the heterostructures.
- The stability, geometry, and electronic band structure of the proposed heterolayers were investigated.
- The effects of external electric fields and strain on the electronic properties were examined.
Main Results:
- Commensurate and stable Si/InSe and Ge/InSe heterolayers were successfully formed.
- The characteristic buckled honeycomb geometries and Dirac-cone-like band structures of silicene and germanene were preserved.
- A significant band gap was opened at the Dirac points (141 meV for Si/InSe, 149 meV for Ge/InSe) due to interlayer charge transfer.
- Electron effective masses remained exceptionally low (0.059m0 for Si/InSe, 0.067m0 for Ge/InSe).
- Band gap and electron effective masses were effectively modulated by external electric fields and strain.
Conclusions:
- InSe nanosheets are identified as an ideal substrate for growing silicene and germanene.
- The resulting van der Waals heterostructures exhibit promising electronic properties for device applications.
- The study provides a theoretical framework, including a parallel plate capacitor model, for understanding and controlling these heterostructures.
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