arXiv subjects

Leonor Chico

Publications and source records attributed to Leonor Chico.

34 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2019

Symmetry-protected metallic and topological phases in penta-materials

We analyze the symmetry and topological features of a family of materials closely related to penta-graphene, derived from it by adsorption or substitution of different atoms. Our description is based on a novel approach, called topological quantum chemistry, that allows to characterize the topology of the electronic bands, based on the mapping between real and reciprocal space. In particular, by adsorption of alkaline (Li or Na) atoms we obtain a nodal line metal at room temperature, with a continuum of Dirac points around the perimeter of the Brillouin zone. This behavior is also observed in some substitutional derivatives of penta-graphene, such as penta-PC$_2$. Breaking of time-reversal symmetry can be achieved by the use of magnetic atoms; we study penta-MnC$_2$, which also presents spin-orbit coupling and reveals a topological insulator phase. We find that for this family of materials, symmetry is the source of protection for metallic and nontrivial topological phases that can be associated to the presence of fractional band filling, spin-orbit coupling and time-reversal symmetry breaking.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

Tight-binding model for opto-electronic properties of penta-graphene nanostructures

We present a tight-binding parametrization for penta-graphene that correctly describes its electronic band structure and linear optical response. The set of parameters is validated by comparing to ab-initio density functional theory calculations for single-layer penta-graphene, showing a very good global agreement. We apply this parameterization to penta-graphene nanoribbons, achieving an adequate description of quantum-size effects. Additionally, a symmetry-based analysis of the energy band structure and the optical transitions involved in the absorption spectra is introduced, allowing for the interpretation of the optoelectronic features of these systems.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

Electric control of the bandgap in quantum wells with band-inverted junctions

In IV-VI semiconductor heterojunctions with band-inversion, such as those made of Pb$_{1-x}$Sn$_{x}$Te or Pb$_{1-x}$Sn$_{x}$Se, interface states are properly described by a two-band model, predicting the appearance of a Dirac cone in single junctions. However, in quantum wells the interface dispersion is quadratic in momentum and the energy spectrum presents a gap. We show that the interface gap shrinks under an electric field parallel to the growth direction. Therefore, the interface gap can be dynamically tuned in experiments on double-gated quantum wells based on band-inverted compounds.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2017

Defect-enhanced Rashba spin-polarized currents in carbon nanotubes

The production of spin-polarized currents in pristine carbon nanotubes with Rashba spin-orbit interaction has been shown to be very sensitive to the symmetry of the tubes and the geometry of the setup. Here we analyze the role of defects on the spin quantum conductances of metallic carbon nanotubes due to an external electric field. We show that localized defects, such as adsorbed hydrogen atoms or pentagon-heptagon pairs, increase the Rashba spin-polarized current. Moreover, this enhancement takes place for energies closer to the Fermi energy as compared to the response of pristine tubes. Such increment can be even larger when several equally spaced defects are introduced into the system. We explore different arrangements of defects, showing that for certain geometries there are flips of the spin-polarized current and even transport suppression. Our results indicate that spin valve devices at the nanoscale may be achieved via defect engineering in carbon nanotubes.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2017

Controlling the layer localization of gapless states in bilayer graphene with a gate voltage

Experiments in gated bilayer graphene with stacking domain walls present topological gapless states protected by no-valley mixing. Here we research these states under gate voltages using atomistic models, which allow us to elucidate their origin. We find that the gate potential controls the layer localization of the two states, which switches non-trivially between layers depending on the applied gate voltage magnitude. We also show how these bilayer gapless states arise from bands of single-layer graphene by analyzing the formation of carbon bonds between layers. Based on this analysis we provide a model Hamiltonian with analytical solutions, which explains the layer localization as a function of the ratio between the applied potential and interlayer hopping. Our results open a route for the manipulation of gapless states in electronic devices, analogous to the proposed writing and reading memories in topological insulators.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2017

Spin and charge caloritronics in bilayer graphene flakes with magnetic contacts

We investigate the coupling of spin and thermal currents as a means to rise the thermoelectric efficiency of nanoscale graphene devices. We consider nanostructures composed of overlapping graphene nanoribbons with ferromagnetic contacts in different magnetic configurations. Our results show that the charge Seebeck effect is greatly enhanced when the magnetic leads are in an antiparallel configuration, due to the enlargement of the transport gap. However, for the optimization of the charge figure of merit ZT it is better to choose a parallel alignment of the magnetization in the leads, because the electron-hole symmetry is broken in this magnetic configuration. We also obtain the spin-dependent Seebeck coefficient and spin figure of merit. In fact, the spin ZT can double its value with respect to the charge ZT for a wide temperature range, above 300 K. These findings suggest the potential value of graphene nanosystems as energy harvesting devices employing spin currents.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2017

Twisting Dirac fermions: Circular dichroism in bilayer graphene

Twisted bilayer graphene is a chiral system which has been recently shown to present circular dichroism. In this work we show that the origin of this optical activity is the rotation of the Dirac fermions' helicities in the top and bottom layer. Starting from the Kubo formula, we obtain a compact expression for the Hall conductivity that takes into account the dephasing of the electromagnetic field between the top and bottom layers and gathers all the symmetries of the system. Our results are based in both a continuum and a tight-binding model, and they can be generalized to any two-dimensional Dirac material with a chiral stacking between layers.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2016

All-electrical production of spin-polarized currents in carbon nanotubes: Rashba spin-orbit interaction

We study the effect of the Rashba spin-orbit interaction in the quantum transport of carbon nanotubes with arbitrary chiralities. For certain spin directions, we find a strong spin-polarized electrical current that depends on the diameter of the tube, the length of the Rashba region and on the tube chirality. Predictions for the spin-dependent conductances are presented for different families of achiral and chiral tubes. We have found that different symmetries acting on spatial and spin variables have to be considered in order to explain the relations between spin-resolved conductances in carbon nanotubes. These symmetries are more general than those employed in planar graphene systems. Our results indicate the possibility of having stable spin-polarized electrical currents in absence of external magnetic fields or magnetic impurities in carbon nanotubes.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Existence of nontrivial topologically protected states at grain boundaries in bilayer graphene: signatures and electrical switching

Recent experiments [L. Ju et al., Nature, 2015, 520, 650] confirm the existence of gapless states at domain walls created in gated bilayer graphene, when the sublattice stacking is changed from AB to BA. These states are significant because they are topologically protected, valley-polarized and give rise to conductance along the domain wall. Current theoretical models predict the appearance of such states only at domain walls, which preserve the sublattice order. Here we show that the appearance of the topologically protected states in stacking domain walls can be much more common in bilayer graphene, since they can also emerge in unexpected geometries, e.g., at grain boundaries with atomic-scale topological defects. We focus on a bilayer system in which one of the layers contains a line of octagon-double pentagon defects, that mix graphene sublattices. We demonstrate that gap states are preserved even with pentagonal defects. Remarkably, unlike previous predictions, the number of gap states changes by inverting the gate polarization, yielding an asymmetric conductance along the grain boundary under gate reversal. This effect, linked to defect states, should be detectable in transport measurements and could be exploited in electrical switches.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2015

Symmetries of quantum transport with Rashba spin-orbit: Graphene spintronics

The lack of some spatial symmetries in planar devices with Rashba spin-orbit interaction opens the possibility of producing spin polarized electrical currents in absence of external magnetic field or magnetic impurities. We study how the direction of the spin polarization of the current is related to spatial symmetries of the device. As an example of these relations we study numerically the spin-resolved current in graphene nanoribbons. Different configurations are explored and analyzed to demonstrate that graphene nanoflakes may be used as excellent spintronic devices in an all-electrical setup.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2015

Divacancy-induced Ferromagnetism in Graphene Nanoribbons

Zigzag graphene nanoribb ons have spin-polarized edges, anti-ferromagnetically coupled in the ground state with total spin zero. Customarily, these ribbons are made ferromagnetic by producing an imbalance between the two sublattices. Here we show that zigzag ribbons can be ferromagnetic due to the presence of reconstructed divacancies near one edge. This effect takes place despite the divacancies are produced by removing two atoms from opposite sublattices, being balanced before reconstruction to 5-8-5 defects. We demonstrate that there is a strong interaction between the defect-localized and edge bands which mix and split away from the Fermi level. This splitting is asymmetric, yielding a net edge spin-polarization. Therefore, the formation of reconstructed divacancies close to the edges of the nanoribbons can be a practical way to make them partially ferromagnetic.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2014

Electron-phonon deformation potential interaction in core-shell Ge-Si and Si-Ge nanowires

We settle a general expression for the Hamiltonian of the electron-phonon deformation potential (DP) interaction in the case of non-polar core-shell cylindrical nanowires (NWs). On the basis of long range phenomenological continuum model for the optical modes and by taking into account the bulk phonon dispersions, we study the size dependence and strain-induced shift of the electron-phonon coupling strengths for Ge-Si and Si-Ge NWs. We derive analytically the DP electron-phonon Hamiltonian and report some numerical results for the frequency core modes and vibrational amplitudes. Our approach allows for the unambiguous identification of the strain and confinement effects. We explore the dependence of mode frequencies and hole-DP scattering rates on the structural parameters of these core-shell structures, which constitute a basic tool for the characterization and device applications of these novel nanosystems.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2014

Bound states in the continuum: localization of Dirac-like fermions

We report the formation of bound states in the continuum for Dirac-like fermions in structures composed by a trilayer graphene flake connected to nanoribbon leads. The existence of this kind of localized states can be proved by combining local density of states and electronic conductance calculations. By applying a gate voltage, the bound states couple to the continuum, yielding a maximum in the electronic transmission. This feature can be exploited to identify bound states in the continuum in graphene-based structures.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

Electronic transport of folded graphene nanoribbons

We investigate the electronic transport properties of a folded graphene nanoribbon with monolayer nanoribbon contacts. We consider two possible foldings: either the nanoribbon can be folded onto itself in the shape of a hairpin with the nanoribbon leads at a $0^\circ$ angle, or the monolayer contacts have different directions, forming a $60^\circ$ angle. The system is described by a single $π$-band nearest-neighbor tight-binding Hamiltonian taking into account curvature effects. We have found that for the case of a nanoribbon folded over itself the conductance oscillates from almost zero and a finite value depending on the coupling between contacts, whereas in the $60^\circ$ angle folding the conductance is only slightly perturbed, allowing for the connection of graphene nanoelectronic components in a variety of geometries.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

Polar optical phonons in core-shell semiconductor nanowires

We obtain the the long-wavelength polar optical vibrational modes of semiconductor core-shell nanowires by means of a phenomenological continuum model. A basis for the space of solutions is derived, and by applying the appropriate boundary conditions, the transcendental equations for the coupled and uncoupled modes are attained. Our results are applied to the study of the GaAs-GaP core-shell nanowire, for which we calculate numerically the polar optical modes, analyzing the role of strain in the vibrational properties of this nanosystem.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

Interplay between symmetry and spin-orbit coupling in graphene nanoribbons

We study the electronic structure of chiral and achiral graphene nanoribbons with symmetric edges, including curvature and spin-orbit effects. Curved ribbons show spin-split bands, whereas flat ribbons present spin-degenerate bands. We show that this effect is due to the breaking of spatial inversion symmetry in curved graphene nanoribbons, while flat ribbons with symmetric edges possess an inversion center, regardless of their having chiral or achiral edges. We find an enhanced edge-edge coupling and a substantial gap in narrow chiral nanoribbons, which is not present in zigzag ribbons of similar width. We attribute these size effects to the mixing of the sublattices imposed by the edge geometry, yielding a distinct behavior of chiral ribbons from those with pure zigzag edges.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗