Design of Graphene-Nanoribbon Heterojunctions from First Principles

Graphene nanoribbons with armchair and zigzag edges are known to have very different electronic structure and properties. We show here that the fusion of an armchair and a zigzag graphene-nanoribbon (aGNR|zGNR) can form heterojunctions with remarkable electron transport properties. First-principles calculations reveal that the heterojunction can be either metallic or semiconducting depending on the width of the nanoribbon. A well-defined oscillation of the zero-bias conductance as a function of the ribbon width is observed, which is originated from the resonance and nonresonance of frontier orbitals between aGNR and zGNR. We find that the current/voltage characteristics of the aGNR|zGNR heterojunction possess pronounced rectification effect, and a high rectification ratio can be achieved by tuning the width of the zGNR to minimize the backward current. The unique properties of the proposed heterojunction could be very useful for manufacturing graphene-based electronic devices.