Interband optical absorption in a circular graphene quantum dot

Abstract

We investigate the energy levels and optical properties of a circular graphene quantum dot in the presence of an external magnetic field perpendicular to the dot. Based on the Dirac–Weyl equation and assuming zero outward current at the edge of the dot we present the results for two different types of boundary conditions, i.e. infinite-mass (IMBC) and zigzag boundary conditions. We found that the dot with zigzag edges displays a zero-energy state in the energy spectra while this is not the case for the IMBCs. For both boundary conditions, the confinement becomes dominated by the magnetic field, where the energy levels converge to the Landau levels as the magnetic field increases. The effect of boundary conditions on the electron- and hole-energy states is found to affect the interband absorption spectra, where we found larger absorption in the case of IMBCs. The selection rules for interband optical transitions are determined and discussed for both boundary conditions.