Graphene Junctions Research Articles

Fano resonances in gated phosphorene junctions

Fano resonances appear in plenty of physical phenomena due to the interference phenomena of a continuum spectrum and discrete states. In gated bilayer graphene junctions, the chiral matching at oblique incidence between the spectrum of electron states outside the electrostatic barrier and hole bound states inside it gives rise to an asymmetric line shape in the transmission as a function of the energy or Fano resonance. Here, we show that Fano resonances are also possible in gated phosphorene junctions along the zigzag direction. The special pseudospin texture of the charge carriers in the zigzag direction allows at oblique incidence the interference phenomena of the spectrum of electron states outside the electrostatic barrier with hole bound states inside it, giving rise to an asymmetric Fano line shape in the transmission. Due to the energy scale of the electrostatic barriers in phosphorene ultra thin barriers are required to observe the Fano resonance phenomenon. The preservation of the pseudospin texture with the closing of the phosphorene band gap opens the possibility to observe Fano resonances in smaller and wider electrostatic barriers. The asymmetric Fano line shape is susceptible to the transverse wave vector, the strength and width of the electrostatic barrier. Additionally, the conductance shows a characteristic mark in the position where the Fano resonances take place. The similarities and differences with respect to Fano resonances in bilayer graphene are also addressed.

On-chip phonon-enhanced IR near-field detection of molecular vibrations

Phonon polaritons – quasiparticles formed by strong coupling of infrared (IR) light with lattice vibrations in polar materials – can be utilized for surface-enhanced infrared absorption (SEIRA) spectroscopy and even for vibrational strong coupling with nanoscale amounts of molecules. Here, we introduce and demonstrate a compact on-chip phononic SEIRA spectroscopy platform, which is based on an h-BN/graphene/h-BN heterostructure on top of a metal split-gate creating a p-n junction in graphene. The metal split-gate concentrates the incident light and launches hyperbolic phonon polaritons (HPhPs) in the heterostructure, which serves simultaneously as SEIRA substrate and room-temperature infrared detector. When thin organic layers are deposited directly on top of the heterostructure, we observe a photocurrent encoding the layer’s molecular vibrational fingerprint, which is strongly enhanced compared to that observed in standard far-field absorption spectroscopy. A detailed theoretical analysis supports our results, further predicting an additional sensitivity enhancement as the molecular layers approach deep subwavelength scales. Future on-chip integration of infrared light sources such as quantum cascade lasers or even electrical generation of the HPhPs could lead to fully on-chip phononic SEIRA sensors for molecular and gas sensing.

Criterion for vanishing valley asymmetric transmission in dual-gated bilayer graphene

Abstract Realizing valley asymmetric transmission(VAT) for incoming valley unpolarized Dirac carriers across an electrostatically modulated confinement potential(ECP) step, which is located at the interface of the unipolar ( n − n ′ ) junction in dual-gated Bernal-bilayer graphene(BBG), has caught growing attention because it provides a platform to study the valley polarizer. Such a junction, however, seems to preclude from supporting vanishing VAT. Based on the effective two-band Hamiltonian of BBG with wave matching approach, we demonstrate theoretically that VAT through the n/n′ interface vanishes in the following conditions: (i) the disappearing electrostatically modulated interlayer potential difference(EPD), or (ii) the invariance condition of the sum or difference of ECPs and EPDs, which physically corresponds to the zero band offset of the conduction or valence band in the band alignment of n − n ′ junction. Guided by this, it is worth mentioning that the we can derive simple, analytical valley-independent expressions for the reflection and transmission probabilities. When the same invariant conditions occur, our calculations further show the appearance of the nearly vanishing VAT for the four-band model in bilayer graphene with ‘Mexican hat’-like band. As a byproduct, we apply these findings to suggest the best design for the valley-dependent selection of momenta based on dual-gated BBG connected to two pristine BBG electrodes in which ECPs of the two outer regions are distinguishable and show that the sign of valley polarization can be switched via varying EPD. We expect our results can provide guidance for future device applications relying on ballistic and valley-selective transport.

Boosting thermoelectric performance of molecular junction by utilizing edge branches and weak coupling

In this study, we investigated the thermoelectric properties of molecular junctions, created by trapping naphthacene (C18H12) and rubrene (C42H28) molecules between two graphene electrodes. It is found that the charge transport of naphthacene-based and rubrene-based graphene junctions is not sensitive to the introduction of edge side branches or the increase in molecular length and still maintains resonance transport at the Fermi level. Notably, the presence of pendant branches on the molecular trunk in rubrene-based graphene junctions leads to a suppression of phonon transport, attributed to multiple scattering at the branch attachment points or Fano resonance scattering. The phonon thermal conductance of the rubrene junctions can be reduced by nearly half compared to that of naphthalene junctions. Furthermore, the room-temperature figure of merit (ZT) is significantly enhanced from 0.2 to 1.1 upon constructing weak coupling junctions, representing an almost tenfold increase over covalent junctions. These findings mean that it is highly desirable to find a mechanism that can suppress the phonon thermal conductance of self-assembled molecular films, while preserving their power factor at optimal levels to obtain high-efficiency thermoelectric performance.

Analysis of spin current in ferromagnetic graphene junctions

Magnetization transport in a ferromagnetic/normal/ferromagnetic graphene junction has been investigated. Inspired by a seminal paper [Phys. Rev. B 66, 014,407, 2002], the longitudinal and transverse components of spin current i.e. components parallel and perpendicular to the magnetization direction in the ferromagnetic layer have been studied. It has been shown that only when the reflected and transmitted waves from the interface between two normal/ferromagnetic layers have the same angle as that of the incident wave, there will be no torque associated with the transport of longitudinal spin current. In general, for an arbitrary direction of magnetization, all spin current components are coexisted and therefore the parallel and the perpendicular components of spin transfer torque are existed. Therefore it is not possible to draw a general conclusion that the torque associated with the transport of longitudinal spin current is always zero.

High-quality lateral monolayer-multilayer graphene junction formed by selective laser thinning for self-powered photodetection

The formation of an asymmetric junction is key to graphene-based photodetectors of high-sensitive photodetectability, because such a junction can not only facilitate the diffusion or drift of photogenerated carriers but also realize a self-powered operation. Here, a monolayer-multilayer graphene junction photodetector is accomplished by selectively thinning part of a multilayer graphene to a high-quality monolayer. Benefiting from the large photoabsorption cross section of multilayer graphene and strong asymmetry caused by the significant differences in optoelectronic properties between monolayer and multilayer graphene, the monolayer-multilayer graphene junction shows a 7-fold increase in short-circuit photocurrent as compared with that at the monolayer graphene-metal contact in scanning photocurrent images. The asymmetric configuration also enables the photodetector to work at zero bias with minimized dark current noise and stand-by power consumption. Under global illumination with visible light, a photoswitching ratio of 3.4 × 103, a responsivity of 8.8 mA W−1, a specific detectivity of 1.3 × 108 Jones and a response time of 11 ns can be obtained, suggesting a promising photoresponse. Moreover, it is worth mentioning that such a performance enhancement is achieved without compromising the broadband spectral response of graphene photodetector and it is hence applicable for long wavelength spectral range including infrared and terahertz.

Tunneling conductance of hybrid bilayer-single graphene junctions

We study the tunneling effect of two different junctions based on graphene. Firstly, we consider gapped monolayer graphene (MLG) bridging AA-bilayer graphene (BLG), and secondly, AB stacking. These two systems display a significant decrease in transmission in both setups, showing the adjustability of conductance through gap size manipulation. Furthermore, we identify distinct characteristics in both stackings, including Fano resonances and Fabry-Pérot-like oscillations. Examining conductance as a function of BLG region width gives away varying peaks in the conductance profile for both stackings, exhibiting diverse periods and shapes. We demonstrate that under specific parameter conditions, tunneling leads to zero conductance, contrasting with the case without bias. The coexistence of gap and bias introduces a complex pattern in conductance peaks, reflecting fluctuations in amplitude and frequency. Notably, our findings indicate that the gap induces a noteworthy shift in the conductance profile in AB stacking, suggesting a modification of electronic properties. In AA stacking, minima are particularly evident in the conductance profile, especially for small bias values.

Enhanced Seebeck effect in gated O-shaped Kekulé graphene junctions

The Seebeck effect in graphene with uniform Kekulé lattice distortion has been studied using the tight-binding model combined with the nonequilibrium Green's function method. The numerical results of this work show that the Seebeck coefficient of the O-shaped Kekulé graphene can be enhanced by modulating the gate voltage. At room temperature (T≈300 K), the Seebeck coefficient for the armchair nanoribbon is Sc≈1370μV/K and for the zigzag nanoribbon is Sc≈1260μV/K. At low temperature (T≈128 K), the Seebeck coefficient for the armchair nanoribbon is Sc≈2500μV/K. In addition, the nano-structuration of the O-shaped Kekulé graphene layer induces an anisotropic behavior in the Seebeck effect. Our work provides an idea for the fabrication of efficient and controllable thermoelectric effect devices.

Computational analysis of device-to-device variability in resistive switching through single-layer hexagonal boron nitride and graphene vertical heterostructure model

Abstract We quantify the device-to-device variations in resistive switching by considering a single-layer hexagonal boron nitride and graphene junction as a model. Then, we mimic the variations in the surface of a two-dimensional material in terms of defects and interface states by changing the distance between single-layer hexagonal boron nitride and graphene. We use density functional theory as a methodology to perform simulations at the atomic scale. The results show that the distance affects the current–voltage characterization results and that creating ultra uniform structures is important to reduce the device-to-device variability. These results are crucial to understand the reliability and accuracy of device-to-device variations in memory devices and mimic the neural dynamics beyond the synaptic cleft.

A Perspective on graphene junctions for recognition tunneling

Biopolymer sequencing with graphene edge-based tunnel junctions has the potential to overcome current limitations with the third generation of sequencing based on biological nanopores. Detection of nucleotides via (recognition) tunneling with noble metal break junctions shows promising results; however, the bulky nature and a range of physical and chemical instabilities of the electrodes prevent advancing toward long-read sequencing with single base-calling accuracy. Graphene edges as tunnel electrodes may overcome these limitations, with the possibility to reach true single-molecule readout, thanks to their 2D nature. Currently, the development of graphene tunnel sequencers faces challenges in terms of targeted chemical functionalization of the graphene edge to enable recognition tunneling and the eventual integration in a nanopore configuration to realize long-read sequencing of biopolymers. Herein, we discuss the current developments that encourage active research toward graphene edge junctions for single-molecule detection, recognition, and sequencing applications with nucleotides and deoxyribonucleic acid as example.

Supercurrent mediated by helical edge modes in bilayer graphene

Bilayer graphene encapsulated in tungsten diselenide can host a weak topological phase with pairs of helical edge states. The electrical tunability of this phase makes it an ideal platform to investigate unique topological effects at zero magnetic field, such as topological superconductivity. Here we couple the helical edges of such a heterostructure to a superconductor. The inversion of the bulk gap accompanied by helical states near zero displacement field leads to the suppression of the critical current in a Josephson geometry. Using superconducting quantum interferometry we observe an even-odd effect in the Fraunhofer interference pattern within the inverted gap phase. We show theoretically that this effect is a direct consequence of the emergence of helical modes that connect the two edges of the sample. The absence of such an effect at high displacement field, as well as in bare bilayer graphene junctions, supports this interpretation and demonstrates the topological nature of the inverted gap.

(Invited) Vertically Stacked Graphene Junction Diodes

Graphene is expected to be nanomaterial of the post-silicon era because of its numerous advantageous properties. The single crystal graphene thermally grown on SiC substrate is considered the most promising platform for future electric devices. Large area epitaxial graphene on SiC substrate has been successfully fabricated using high-temperature rapid thermal annealing [1]. In this study, we present vertically stacked graphene junction diodes fabricated using direct bonding technique [2–4]. Figure 1(a) shows the schematic of a stacked graphene junction diode. Two graphene layers on SiC are directly bonded to each other. Gold–coated contact pins are attached to the graphene surface to establish ohmic contact. The graphene samples and contact probes are fixed by acrylic molds. Strong nonlinear current–voltage (I-V) characteristics are observed for this simple device configuration, as shown in Fig. 1(b). In the low bias voltage (Vb) region, the resistance of the graphene diode is approximately 20 GΩ. The current abruptly increases when the bias voltage is increased to approximately 30 V. The two-terminal resistance at a high bias voltage (100 V) is approximately 21 kΩ. The vertically stacked graphene junction exhibits bidirectional thyristor-type characteristics with a high on-off ratio of approximately 106. The Fowler–Nordheim (F-N) tunneling phenomenon is observed in the sub-threshold region. The gap distance estimated from the F-N plot is approximately 6 nm, which can be attributed to the large off resistance. The Coulomb force generated by applying the bias voltage causes the two graphene layers to attract each other, resulting in an electrically conductive state. The junction voltage (Vj) of the device was measured using a four-terminal configuration. As shown in Fig. 1(c), negative resistance is observed in the low-resistance region. The effective internal resistance of the junction diode is reduced to approximately 450 Ω. The off resistance of the diodes is considerably modified by the initial distance between the graphene layers. However, the I-Vj characteristics in the negative resistance region are identical for each device. This result suggests that the cause of the negative resistance phenomena is closely related to the band structure of graphene. A vertically stacked graphene junction diode with a high on-off ratio was demonstrated. The main component of the diode comprised a pair of single-crystal graphene layers fabricated through direct bonding. The negative resistance of the graphene diode presents new possibilities for the application of functional devices, such as terahertz emitters.[1] T. Aritsuki, et al., Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 55 (2016) 06GF03.[2] J. Du, eta al., Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 58 (2019) SDDE01.[3] N. Murakami, et al., Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 60 (2021) SCCD01.[4] M. Ohi, et al., Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 62 (2023) to be published. Figure 1

Novel digital terahertz device for three-state logic gate and phase coding based on graphene and Schottky barrier junctions

Terahertz technology, III-V group semiconductor devices, and graphene have great potential for broad applications in 6 G wireless communications. A novel digital terahertz device with nickel/GaN and graphene/GaN Schottky barrier junctions was proposed in this study. The patterned metal electrodes of the device, together with the graphene layer, formed a terahertz metasurface. The mechanisms of modulating the fermi level of graphene and the conductivity of the device to manipulate the transmission coefficient and reflected phase of terahertz waves were investigated using numerical calculations. The electrical and optical simulation results theoretically demonstrated that the three-state logic gate operation for the transmission coefficient of terahertz wave at 1.458 THz and the 1-bit reflected phase coding manipulation in 1.51–1.55 THz were realized. In addition, the maximum radar cross section reduction for the reflected wave was approximately 11.14 dB, comparing the designed coding sequences with the metal plate. These functions are mainly implemented by applying an external bias voltage to the device. This study provides a new and feasible strategy for designing digital terahertz manipulation devices.

Transparent Patternable Large-Area Graphene p-n Junctions by Photoinduced Electron Doping.

We present a novel approach to achieve n-type doping in graphene and create graphene p-n junctions through a photoinduced electron doping method using photobase generators (PBGs). The unique properties of PBGs allow us to spatially and temporally control the doping process via light activation. The selective irradiation of specific regions on the graphene film enables switching their doping from p- to n-type, as confirmed by changes in the electromotive force and Seebeck and Hall coefficients. We demonstrate a stable (over 2 months) high electron mobility exceeding 1000 cm2 V-1s-1 using Hall effect measurements. The precise control of doping and the creation of p-n junctions in graphene offer exciting possibilities for various electronic, optoelectronic, and thermoelectric applications. Furthermore, we fabricate transparent graphene thermocouples with a high electromotive force of approximately ca. 80 μV/K, which validates the reliability and effectiveness of our approach for temperature sensing applications. This work paves the way for high-performance graphene-based electronic devices via controlled doping and patterning techniques. These findings provide valuable insights for the practical implementation of graphene in various fields.

Quantum Goos-Hänchen switch in graphene junctions

Goos-Hänchen (GH) shift, an interference phenomenon describing the lateral shift of the reflected beam along the interface during total internal reflection, has attracted great interests in the field of quantum transport in two-dimensional materials. In particular, the GH effect generates a novel pseudospin-dependent scattering effect in graphene, which in turn results in an conductance step in the bipolar junctions. Here, we reveal that a barrier region with effective barrier strength χ can greatly enrich the GH effect in graphene junctions. In contrast to the conventional case where the negative shift is allowed only in the p-n junction, the thin barrier enables both negative and positive spatial shifts in pIn and nIn junctions, where I represents the barrier region. More interestingly, the lowest channel degeneracy can be efficiently varied by tuning χ in both the symmetric pInIp and the asymmetric pnIp junctions, leading to a highly controllable switch that switches the conductance between and . These results advance the knowledge of GH effects in electronic materials and suggest experimental avenues for its observation and manipulation.

Effect of Andreev processes on the Goos–Hänchen (GH) shift in the Graphene–Superconductor–Graphene (GSG) junctions

In this article, we study the transport properties of Graphene–Superconductor–Graphene (GSG) heterojunction where the superconducting region is created in the middle of a graphene sheet, as contrasted to widely studied transport properties through a Superconductor–Graphene–Superconductor (SGS) type of Josephson junction. We particularly analyse in detail the Goos–Hänchen shift of the electron and the hole at the GS interface in such a junction, due to normal as well as Andreev reflection, using a transfer matrix-based approach. Additionally, we evaluate the normalised differential conductance as a function of bias voltage that characterises the transport through such junction and point out how they are influenced by Andreev and normal reflection. In the subsequent parts of the article we demonstrate how the GH shift for both electron and hole changes with the width of the superconducting region. The behaviour of the differential conductance in such junctions as a function of the bias voltage in the region, dominated by Andreev and normal reflection, is also presented and analysed.

Tunable p–n junction barriers in few-electron bilayer graphene quantum dots

Graphene quantum dots provide promising platforms for hosting spin, valley, or spin-valley qubits. Taking advantage of their electrically generated bandgap and their ambipolar nature, high-quality quantum dots can be defined in bilayer graphene using natural p–n junctions as tunnel barriers. In these devices, demonstrating the electrical tunability of the p–n junction barriers and understanding its physical mechanism, especially in the few-electron regime, are essential for further manipulating electrons' quantum degrees of freedom to encode qubits. Here, we show the electrostatic confinement of single quantum dots in bilayer graphene using natural p–n junctions. When the device is operated in the few-electron regime, the electron tunneling rate is found to be monotonically tuned by varying gate voltages, which can be well understood from the view of manipulating the p–n junction barriers. Our results provide an insightful understanding of electrostatic confinement using natural p–n junctions in bilayer graphene, which is beneficial for realizing graphene-based qubits.

Perfect crossed Andreev reflection in the proximitized graphene/superconductor/proximitized graphene junctions

Perfect crossed Andreev reflection in the proximitized graphene/superconductor/proximitized graphene junctions

Junctions and Superconducting Symmetry in Twisted Bilayer Graphene.

Junctions provide a wealth of information on the symmetry of the order parameter of superconductors. We analyze junctions between a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) tip and superconducting twisted bilayer graphene (TBG) and TBG Josephson junctions (JJs). We compare superconducting phases that are even or odd under valley exchange (s- or f-wave). The critical current in mixed (s and f) JJs strongly depends on the angle between the junction and the lattice. In STM-TBG junctions, due to Andreev reflection, the f-wave leads to a prominent peak in subgap conductance, as seen in experiments.

Observation of half-integer Shapiro steps in graphene Josephson junctions

We study quantum transport and AC Josephson effect of hexagonal boron nitride encapsulated graphene (BGB) Josephson junctions (JJs). Our experiments reveal the emergence of the half-integer Shapiro steps in the n-type regime with high electron carrier densities. We attribute this observation to the gate-tunable transmission probability of the graphene junction. Our numerical simulations are consistent with the appearance of half-integer Shapiro steps at high transparency, which suggests a skewed current phase relationship in the graphene JJ.