Stacking-dependent transport properties in few-layers graphene

Abstract

Abstract By performing ab initio electronic structure and transport calculations, we investigated the effects of the stacking order (Bernal (AB) and rhombohedral (ABC)) as well as the number of layers, in the electronic structure and charge transport of few-layers graphene (FLG). We observed that for the ABC stack the transport properties are derived from surface states close to the Fermi level connected to dispersive states with an exponential penetration towards the inner layers, whereas for the AB stacking the transport is distributed over all layers. We present a simple model for the resistances as a function of the number of layers which contemplates the different contribution of the surface and inner layers for the transport. However, even if the stackings AB and ABC present completely different electronic and transport properties, both present the same cohesive energies, showing the absence of a thermodynamical preference for a given kind of stacking.