To Sing Li

The optical absorption spectra of unequal width bilayer graphene nanoribbons can be effectively tuned by a spatially modulated electric field. The absorption spectra exhibit many prominent peaks’ structure owing to the one-dimensional subbands. The number, spectral intensity, and frequency of the absorption peaks depend sensitively on the magnitude, period and phase of the modulated electric potential. The relative displacement between the top and bottom nanoribbons also has strong influence on the spectra. For unequal width bilayer graphene nanoribbons without the interlayer hoppings, there exists an optical selection rule originating from the spatial symmetry of the electron wave functions. Most importantly, such a selection rule can be disrupted by the presence of the interlayer atomic interactions or a spatially modulated electric field. These theoretical predictions can be validated by absorption spectroscopy experiments.

The magnetoelectronic properties of quasi-one-dimensional zigzag graphene nanoribbons are investigated by using the Peierls tight-binding model. Quasi-Landau levels (QLLs), dispersionless Landau subbands within a certain region of k-space, are resulted from the competition between magnetic and quantum confinement effects. In bilayer system, the interlayer interactions lead to two groups of QLLs, one occurring at the Fermi level and the other one occurring at higher energies. Transverse electric fields are able to distort energy spectrum, tilt two groups of QLLs and cause semiconductor-metal transition. From the perspective of wave functions, the distribution of electrons is explored, and the evolution of Landau states under the influence of electric fields is clearly discussed. More interestingly, the band mixing phenomena exhibited in the energy spectrum are related to the state mixing, which can be apparently seen in the wave functions. The density of states, which could be verified through surface inspections and optical experiments, such as scanning tunneling spectroscopy and absorption spectroscopy, is provided at last.

The optical absorption spectra of curved graphene nanoribbons exhibit rich dependence on the magnitude and direction of the electric field. The wave functions have spatial symmetry originating from the equivalence of the two sublattices. There exists an optical selection rule caused by the special structure of the Hamiltonian matrix and the wave function spatial symmetry. An electric field may or may not disrupt such spatial symmetry depending on its direction and magnitude. Therefore, the optical selection rule can be controlled. In addition, the two-fold degeneracy of the optical absorption peaks is lifted by the electric field, and the variations of the absorption peak energies with the field are explored.

The optical properties of carbon nanoscrolls in the presence of uniform electric fields are investigated by using gradient approximation. Absorption spectra exhibit rich prominent peaks structures, which is caused by one-dimensional sub-bands. The numbers, spectral intensities, and energies of the absorption peaks are strongly dependent on the geometry and the electric field strength. There exists an optical selection rule originating from the two equivalent sublattices in graphene. The two-fold degeneracy of the absorption peaks can be lifted by the inter-wall interactions or the electric field. The variations of the absorption peak energies with the geometry and field strength are also explored. These theoretical predictions can be validated by optical absorption measurements.

In this work, we use the tight-binding model to study the low-energy electronic properties of carbon nanoscrolls subject to the influences of a transverse electric field. A carbon nanoscroll can be considered as an open-ended spirally wrapped graphene nanoribbon. The inter-wall interactions will alter the subband curvature, create additional band-edge states, modify the subband spacing or energy gap, and separate the partial flat bands. Furthermore, the energy band symmetry about the Fermi level is lifted by such interactions. The truncated Archimedean spiral ρ = r _a θ +r is used to describe the spiral structures of carbon nanoscrolls. The energy gap is found to oscillate significantly with r, and exhibits complete energy gap modulations. With the inclusion of a transverse electric field, the band structures are further altered. Inter-wall hoppings will cause electron transfers between different atoms leading to distortions of the electron wavefunctions. The main features of the energy dispersions are directly reflected in the density of states. The numbers, heights, and energies of the density of states peaks are dependent on the electric field strength.