Tuning the band structure, magnetic and transport properties of the zigzag graphene nanoribbons/hexagonal boron nitride heterostructures by transverse electric field.

The paper presents the results of ab initio study of the opportunities for tuning the band structure, magnetic and transport properties of zigzag graphene nanoribbon (8-ZGNR) on hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN(0001)) semiconductor heterostructure by transverse electric field (E(ext)). This study was performed within the framework of the density functional theory (DFT) using Grimme's (DFT-D2) scheme. We established the critical values of E(ext) for the 8-ZGNR/h-BN(0001) heterostructure, thereby providing for semiconductor-halfmetal transition in one of electron spin configurations. This study also showed that the degeneration in energy of the localized edge states is removed when E(ext) is applied. In ZGNR/h-BN (0001) heterostructure, value of the splitting energy was higher than one in ZGNRs without substrate. We determined the effect of low E(ext) applied to the 8-ZGNR/h-BN (0001) semiconductor heterostructure on the preserved local magnetic moment (LMM) (0.3μ(B)) of edge carbon atoms. The transport properties of the 8-ZGNR/h-BN(0001) semiconductor heterostructure can be controlled using E(ext). In particular, at a critical value of the positive potential, the electron mobility can increase to 7× 10(5) cm(2)/V s or remain at zero in the spin-up and spin-down electron subsystems, respectively. We established that magnetic moments (MMs), band gaps, and carrier mobility can be altered using E(ext). These abilities enable the use of 8-ZGNR/h-BN(0001) semiconductor heterostructure in spintronics.