Electronic structure of graphene thin films under a perpendicular electric field

Abstract

Based on density functional theory (DFT), we investigated the electronic structure of multilayer graphene under the perpendicular electric field. DFT calculations revealed that the number of layers and their stacking arrangement play a crucial role in determining the electronic structure of multilayer graphene under the perpendicular electric field. When an electric field is applied, multilayer graphene with AB stacking exhibits metallic or semi-metallic properties depending on whether the number of layers is odd or even, respectively. Multilayer graphene with ABC stacking under the electric field is a semiconductor that possesses a flat band at the valence- and conduction-band edges, irrespective of the number of layers. The electronic structure near the Fermi level of multilayer graphene with AA stacking is insensitive to the external electric field.