J. Appl. Cryst.の発刊に際して

This paper presents an overview of the work done on graphene in recent years. It explains the preparation techniques, the properties of graphene related to its physio-chemical structure and some key applications. Graphene, due to its outstanding electrical, mechanical and thermal properties, has been one of the most popular choices to develop the electrodes of a sensor. It has been used in different forms including nanoparticle and oxide forms. Along with the preparation and properties of graphene, the categorization of the applications has been done based on the type of sensors. Comparisons between different research studies for each type have been made to highlight their performances. The challenges faced by the current graphene-based sensors along with some of the probable solutions and their future opportunities are also briefly explained in this paper.

Graphene and its sensor-based applications: A review

The performance of organometallic perovskite solar cells has rapidly surpassed those of both traditional dye-sensitized and organic photovoltaics, e.g. solar cells based on CH3NH3PbI3 have recently reached 18% conversion efficiency. We analyze its electronic structure and optical properties within the quasiparticle self-consistent GW approximation (QSGW ). Quasiparticle self-consistency is essential for an accurate description of the band structure: bandgaps are much larger than what is predicted by the local density approximation (LDA) or GW based on the LDA. Several characteristics combine to make the electronic structure of this material unusual. First, there is a strong driving force for ferroelectricity, as a consequence the polar organic moiety CH3NH3. The moiety is only weakly coupled to the PbI3 cage; thus it can rotate give rise to ferroelectric domains. This in turn will result in internal junctions that may aid separation of photoexcited electron and hole pairs, and may contribute to the current-voltage hysteresis found in perovskite solar cells. Second, spin orbit modifies both valence band and conduction band dispersions in a very unusual manner: both get split at the R point into two extrema nearby. This can be interpreted in terms of a large Dresselhaus term, which vanishes at R but for small excursions about R varies linearly in k. Conduction bands (Pb 6p character) and valence bands (I 5p) are affected differently; moreover the splittings vary with the orientation of the moiety. We will show how the splittings, and their dependence on the orientation of the moiety through the ferroelectric effect, have important consequences for both electronic transport and the optical properties of this material.

http://absimage.aps.org/image/MAR15/MWS_MAR15-2014-020499.pdf

Electronic structure of hybrid halide perovskite photovoltaic absorbers

This review presents the state of the art in strain and ripple-induced effects on the electronic and optical properties of graphene. It starts by providing the crystallographic description of mechanical deformations, as well as the diffraction pattern for different kinds of representative deformation fields. Then, the focus turns to the unique elastic properties of graphene, and to how strain is produced. Thereafter, various theoretical approaches used to study the electronic properties of strained graphene are examined, discussing the advantages of each. These approaches provide a platform to describe exotic properties, such as a fractal spectrum related with quasicrystals, a mixed Dirac-Schrodinger behavior, emergent gravity, topological insulator states, in molecular graphene and other 2D discrete lattices. The physical consequences of strain on the optical properties are reviewed next, with a focus on the Raman spectrum. At the same time, recent advances to tune the optical conductivity of graphene by strain engineering are given, which open new paths in device applications. Finally, a brief review of strain effects in multilayered graphene and other promising 2D materials like silicene and materials based on other group-IV elements, phosphorene, dichalcogenide- and monochalcogenide-monolayers is presented, with a brief discussion of interplays among strain, thermal effects, and illumination in the latter material family.

Electronic and optical properties of strained graphene and other strained 2D materials: a review.

Electronic and optical properties of strained graphene and other strained 2D materials: a review

Spin transport in graphene superlattice under strain

Using transfer-matrix and stationary phase methods, we study the tunneling time (group delay time) in a ferromagnetic monolayer graphene superlattice. The system we peruse consists of a sequence of rectangular barriers and wells, which can be realized by putting a series of electronic gates on the top of ferromagnetic graphene. The magnetization in the two ferromagnetic layers is aligned parallel. We find out that the tunneling time for normal incident is independent of spin state of electron as well as the barrier height and electron Fermi energy while for the oblique incident angles the tunneling time depends on the spin state of electron and has an oscillatory behavior. Also the effect of barrier width on tunneling time is also investigated and shown that, for normal incident, the Hartman effect disappears in a ferromagnetic graphene superlattice but it appears for oblique incident angles when the x component of the electron wave vector in the barrier is imaginary.

Tunneling time and Hartman effect in a ferromagnetic graphene superlattice

Based on transfer-matrix and stationary phase methods, we have investigated the tunneling time (group delay time) through monolayer graphene superlattice in the presence of Rashba spin-orbit interaction. It is found that the tunneling time has an oscillatory behavior with respect to Rashba spin-orbit interaction strength. Furthermore, the tunneling time for normal incident angle is independent of spin state of electron, while for oblique incident angles, it depends on the spin state of electron. It is also shown that, for normal incident, the Hartman effect vanishes, while for oblique incident, the Hartman effect appears whenever the x (the growth direction of superlattice) component of the electron wave vector inside the barriers is imaginary.

Rashba spin-orbit effect on tunneling time in graphene superlattice

We have studied spin transport in monolayer and bilayer ferromagnetic graphene superlattice, based on transfer matrix method. The ferromagnetic insulator layers with exchange energy E
 ex
 , are in contact with the gate electrode. The magnetization in ferromagnetic insulator layers aligned in the z or negative z-direction. We find that the conductivity of the systems has an oscillatory behavior with respect to the gate voltage and it depends on the spin state of electron. It has been shown that the spin current can be controlled by gate voltage and in proper width of the wells and barriers it is possible to filter electron with a specific spin.

Farhad Sattari

Papers

Spin transport in graphene superlattice under strain

Tunneling time and Hartman effect in a ferromagnetic graphene superlattice

Rashba spin-orbit effect on tunneling time in graphene superlattice

Spin filtering in a ferromagnetic graphene superlattice

Spin transport and wavevector-dependent spin filtering through magnetic graphene superlattice