arXiv subjects

Zuanyi Li

Publications and source records attributed to Zuanyi Li.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2018

Thermal Transport Across Graphene Step Junctions

Step junctions are often present in layered materials, i.e. where single-layer regions meet multi-layer regions, yet their effect on thermal transport is not understood to date. Here, we measure heat flow across graphene junctions (GJs) from monolayer to bilayer graphene, as well as bilayer to four-layer graphene for the first time, in both heat flow directions. The thermal conductance of the monolayer-bilayer GJ device ranges from ~0.5 to 9.1x10^8 Wm-2K-1 between 50 K to 300 K. Atomistic simulations of such GJ device reveal that graphene layers are relatively decoupled, and the low thermal conductance of the device is determined by the resistance between the two dis-tinct graphene layers. In these conditions the junction plays a negligible effect. To prove that the decoupling between layers controls thermal transport in the junction, the heat flow in both directions was measured, showing no evidence of thermal asymmetry or rectification (within experimental error bars). For large-area graphene applications, this signifies that small bilayer (or multilayer) islands have little or no contribution to overall thermal transport.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2017

Size Dependence and Ballistic Limits of Thermal Transport in Anisotropic Layered Two-Dimensional Materials

Layered materials have uncommonly anisotropic thermal properties due to their strong in-plane covalent bonds and weak out-of-plane van der Waals interactions. Here we examine heat flow in graphene (graphite), h-BN, MoS2, and WS2 monolayers and bulk films, from diffusive to ballistic limits. We determine the ballistic thermal conductance limit (Gball) both in-plane and out-of-plane, based on full phonon dispersions from first-principles calculations. An overall phonon mean free path (λ) is expressed in terms of Gball and the diffusive thermal conductivity, consistent with kinetic theory if proper averaging of phonon group velocity is used. We obtain a size-dependent thermal conductivity k(L) in agreement with available experiments, and find that k(L) only converges to >90% of the diffusive thermal conductivity for sample sizes L > 16λ, which ranges from ~140 nm for MoS2 cross-plane to ~10 um for suspended graphene in-plane. These results provide a deeper understanding of microscopic thermal transport, revealing that device scales below which thermal size effects should be taken into account are generally larger than previously thought.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Thermal Conductivity of Chirality-Sorted Carbon Nanotube Networks

The thermal properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are of significant interest, yet their dependence on SWNT chirality has been, until now, not explored experimentally. Here we used electrical heating and infrared thermal imaging to simultaneously study thermal and electrical transport in chirality-sorted SWNT networks. We examined solution processed 90% semiconducting, 90% metallic, purified unsorted (66% semiconducting), and as-grown HiPco SWNT films. The thermal conductivities of these films range from 80 to 370 W/m/K but are not controlled by chirality, instead being dependent on the morphology (i.e. mass and junction density, quasi-alignment) of the networks. The upper range of the thermal conductivities measured is comparable to that of the best metals (Cu and Ag) but with over an order of magnitude lower mass density. This study reveals important factors controlling the thermal properties of light-weight chirality-sorted SWNT films, for potential thermal and thermoelectric applications.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2014

Substrate-supported thermometry platform for nanomaterials like graphene, nanotubes, and nanowires

We demonstrate a substrate-supported thermometry platform to measure thermal conduction in nanomaterials like graphene, with no need to suspend them. We use three-dimensional simulations and careful uncertainty analysis to optimize the platform geometry and to obtain the sample thermal conductivity. The lowest thermal sheet conductance that can be sensed with <50% error is ~25 nW/K at room temperature, indicating applicability of this platform to graphene or polymer thin films, nanotube or nanowire arrays, even a single Si nanowire. The platform can also be extended to plastic substrates, and could find wide applicability in circumstances where fabrication challenges and low yield associated with suspended platforms must be avoided.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2014

Thermal and Thermoelectric Properties of Graphene

The subject of thermal transport at the mesoscopic scale and in low-dimensional systems is interesting for both fundamental research and practical applications. As the first example of truly two-dimensional materials, graphene has exceptionally high thermal conductivity, and thus provides an ideal platform for the research. Here we review recent studies on thermal and thermoelectric properties of graphene, with an emphasis on experimental progresses. A general physical picture based on the Landauer transport formalism is introduced to understand underlying mechanisms. We show that the superior thermal conductivity of graphene is contributed not only by large ballistic thermal conductance but also by very long phonon mean free path (MFP). The long phonon MFP, explained by the low-dimensional nature and high sample purity of graphene, results in important isotope effects and size effects on thermal conduction. In terms of various scattering mechanisms in graphene, several approaches are suggested to control thermal conductivity. Among them, introducing rough boundaries and weakly-coupled interfaces are promising ways to suppress thermal conduction effectively. We also discuss the Seebeck effect of graphene. Graphene itself might not be a good thermoelectric material. However, the concepts developed by graphene research might be applied to improve thermoelectric performance of other materials.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2013

Ballistic to diffusive crossover of heat flow in graphene ribbons

Heat flow in nanomaterials is an important area of study, with both fundamental and technological implications. However, little is known about heat flow in two-dimensional (2D) devices or interconnects with dimensions comparable to the phonon mean free path (mfp). Here, we find that short, quarter-micron graphene samples reach ~35% of the ballistic heat conductance limit up to room temperature, enabled by the relatively large phonon mfp (~100 nm) in substrate-supported graphene. In contrast, patterning similar samples into nanoribbons (GNRs) leads to a diffusive heat flow regime that is controlled by ribbon width and edge disorder. In the edge-controlled regime, the GNR thermal conductivity scales with width approximately as ~W^{1.8+/-0.3}, being about 100 W/m/K in 65-nm-wide GNRs, at room temperature. Manipulation of device dimensions on the scale of the phonon mfp can be used to achieve full control of their heat-carrying properties, approaching fundamentally limited upper or lower bounds.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2012

Role of Joule Heating on Current Saturation and Transient Behavior of Graphene Transistors

We use simulations to examine current saturation in sub-micron graphene transistors on SiO2/Si. We find self-heating is partly responsible for current saturation (lower output conductance), but degrades current densities >1 mA/um by up to 15%. Heating effects are reduced if the supporting insulator is thinned, or in shorter channel devices by partial heat sinking at the contacts. The transient behavior of such devices has thermal time constants of ~30-300 ns, dominated by the thickness of the supporting insulator and that of device capping layers (a behavior also expected in ultrathin body SOI transistors). The results shed important physical insight into the high-field and transient behavior of graphene transistors.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2010

Spontaneous edge-defect formation and defect-induced conductance suppression in graphene nanoribbons

We present a first-principles study of the migration and recombination of edge defects (carbon adatom and/or vacancy) and their influence on electrical conductance in zigzag graphene nanoribbons (ZGNRs). It is found that at room temperature, the adatom is quite mobile while the vacancy is almost immobile along the edge of ZGNRs. The recombination of an adatom-vacancy pair leads to a pentagon-heptagon ring defect structure having a lower energy than the perfect edge, implying that such an edge-defect can be formed spontaneously. This edge defect can suppresses the conductance of ZGNRs drastically, which provides some useful hints for understanding the observed semiconducting behavior of the fabricated narrow GNRs.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2010

Multiple Localized States and Magnetic Orderings in Partially Open Zigzag Carbon Nanotube Superlattices: An Ab Initio Study

Using first-principles calculations, we examine the electronic and magnetic properties of partially open zigzag carbon nanotube (CNT) superlattices. It is found that depending on their opening degree, these superlattices can exhibit multiple localized states around the Fermi energy. More importantly, some electronic states confined in some parts of the structure even have special magnetic orderings. We demonstrate that, as a proof of principle, some partially open zigzag CNT superlattices are by themselves giant (100%) magnetoresistive devices. Furthermore, the localized(and spin-polarized) states as well as the band gaps of the superlattices could be further modulated by external electric fields perpendicular to the tube axis, and a bias voltage along the tube axis may be used to control the conductance of two spin states. We believe that these results will open the way to the production of novel nanoscale electronic and spintronic devices.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2010

Role of Symmetry in the Transport Properties of Graphene Nanoribbons under Bias

The intrinsic transport properties of zigzag graphene nanoribbons (ZGNRs) are investigated using first principles calculations. It is found that although all ZGNRs have similar metallic band structure, they show distinctly different transport behaviors under bias voltages, depending on whether they are mirror symmetric with respect to the midplane between two edges. Asymmetric ZGNRs behave as conventional conductors with linear current-voltage dependence, while symmetric ZGNRs exhibit unexpected very small currents with the presence of a conductance gap around the Fermi level. This difference is revealed to arise from different coupling between the conducting subbands around the Fermi level, which is dependent on the symmetry of the systems.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2010

The Half-Metallicity of Zigzag Graphene Nanoribbons with Asymmetric Edge Terminations

The spin-polarized electronic structure and half-metallicity of zigzag graphene nanoribbons (ZGNRs) with asymmetric edge terminations are investigated by using first principles calculations. It is found that compared with symmetric hydrogen-terminated counterparts, such ZGNRs maintain a spin-polarized ground state with the anti-ferromagnetic configuration at opposite edges, but their energy bands are no longer spin degenerate. In particular, the energy gap of one spin orientation decreases remarkably. Consequently, the ground state of such ZGNRs is very close to half-metallic state, and thus a smaller critical electric field is required for the systems to achieve the half-metallic state. Moreover, two kinds of studied ZGNRs present massless Dirac-fermion band structure when they behave like half-metals.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2010

Towards Graphene Nanoribbon-based Electronics

The successful fabrication of single layer graphene has greatly stimulated the progress of the research on graphene. In this article, focusing on the basic electronic and transport properties of graphene nanoribbons (GNRs), we review the recent progress of experimental fabrication of GNRs, and the theoretical and experimental investigations of physical properties and device applications of GNRs. We also briefly discuss the research efforts on the spin polarization of GNRs in relation to the edge states.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2008

Adsorption of gas molecules on graphene nanoribbons and its implication for nano-scale molecule sensor

We have studied the adsorption of gas molecules (CO, NO, NO2, O2, N2, CO2, and NH3) on graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) using first principles methods. The adsorption geometries, adsorption energies, charge transfer, and electronic band structures are obtained. We find that the electronic and transport properties of the GNR with armchair-shaped edges are sensitive to the adsorption of NH3 and the system exhibits n type semiconducting behavior after NH3 adsorption. Other gas molecules have little effect on modifying the conductance of GNRs. Quantum transport calculations further indicate that NH3 molecules can be detected out of these gas molecules by GNR based sensor.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2008

Graphene Nanoribbon based T Junctions

Graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) based T junctions were designed and studied in this paper. These junctions were made up of shoulders (zigzag GNRs) joined with stems (armchair GNRs). We demonstrated the intrinsic transport properties and effective boron (or nitrogen) doping of the junctions by using first principles quantum transport simulation. Several interesting results were found: i) The I-V characteristics of the pure-carbon T junctions were shown to obey Ohm law and the electrical conductivity of the junction depends on the height of the stem sensitively. ii) boron (or nitrogen) doping on the stems doesnt change the Ohm law of the T junctions, but the result is opposite when doping process occurs at the shoulders. This feature could make such quasi-2D T junction a possible candidate for nanoscale junction devices in a 2D network of nanoelectronic devices in which conducting pathways can be controlled.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2007

Chemical Functionalization of Graphene Nanoribbons by Carboxyl Groups on Stone-Wales Defects

Using the density functional theory, we have demonstrated the chemical functionalization of semiconducting graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) with Stone-Wales (SW) defects by carboxyl (COOH) groups. It is found that the geometrical structures and electronic properties of the GNRs changed significantly, and the electrical conductivity of the system could be considerably enhanced by mono-adsorption and double-adsorption of COOH, which sensitively depends upon the axial concentration of SW defects COOH pairs (SWDCPs). With the increase of the axial concentration of SWDCPs, the system would transform from semiconducting behavior to p-type metallic behavior. This fact makes GNRs a possible candidate for chemical sensors and nanoelectronic devices based on graphene nanoribbons.

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