An electric field tunable energy band gap at silicene/(0001) ZnS interfaces

Abstract

The interaction of silicene, the silicon counterpart of graphene, with (0001) ZnS surfaces is investigated theoretically, using first-principles simulations. The charge transfer occurring at the silicene/(0001) ZnS interface leads to the opening of an indirect energy band gap of about 0.7 eV in silicene. Remarkably, the nature (indirect or direct) and magnitude of the energy band gap of silicene can be controlled by an external electric field: the energy gap is predicted to become direct for electric fields larger than about 0.5 V Å(-1), and the direct energy gap decreases approximately linearly with the applied electric field. The predicted electric field tunable energy band gap of the silicene/(0001) ZnS interface is very promising for its potential use in nanoelectronic devices.

Thermal conductance by Dirac fermions in a normal-insulator-superconductor junction of silicene

“…Consequently, a band gap appears at the Dirac points K and K resulting Dirac fermions to be massive. Due to the buckled structure the two sub-lattices in silicene respond differently to an externally applied electric field which can tune the band gap at the Dirac points [24][25][26] . Such tunability opens up the possibility to undergo a topological phase transition from topologically non-trivial state to a trivial state depending on whether the applied electric field is less or more than the critical value at which the band gap closes.…”

A theoretical study of gas adsorption on silicene nanoribbons and its application in a highly sensitive molecule sensor

“…Although free-standing silicene is not stable, it was experimentally fabricated on Ag, [21][22][23][24] Ir, 25 ZrB 2 , 26 and ZrC. 27 Using firstprinciples calculations, various substrates such as h-BN, 28 SiC, 29 GaS, 30 graphene 31 and ZnS 32 which have weak van der Waals (vdW) interactions with silicene have been also studied to improve its stability. The extraordinary properties of silicene along with its compatibility with silicon based nanoelectronics may give the edge to silicene rather than graphene.…”

Novel electronic properties in silicene on MoSe2 monolayer: An excellent prediction for FET

“…Ding et al [22] reported on adhesion of silicene on GaS substrate, the Dirac-like band feature of linear dispersions was retained and the band gap could be tuned by strain and voltage. Recently, the effect of semiconductor ZnS substrate was also discussed by M. Houssa [23]. However, the strong interaction between substrate and silicene eliminated the feature of Dirac cone of silicene.…”