Topological and transport properties of graphene-based nanojunctions subjected to a magnetic field.

We study the topological properties of finite-size S-shaped graphene junctions with distinctive edge features subjected to the perpendicular magnetic field, using the tight-binding model. The quantum confinement and edge effects induced by the specific junction give rise to significant modifications in the Hofstadter spectra of the bent flakes, when compared to those of their perfect forms. Moreover, the results show that in absence of a magnetic field, the sharpest zigzag-edged corners support the edge states rather than the others, but the magnetic field leads to the localization of the edge states along the whole perimeter of the flakes. Furthermore, based on the Green's function method, we investigate the electron transport through our proposed junctions. We show that, under magnetic flux, one can effectively control the energy gap and the conductance around the Fermi energy. Moreover, the transitions between metallic, semimetallic, and semiconducting phases are possible by the magnetic flux in the S-shaped junctions.

Highly tunable charge and spin transport in silicene junctions: phase transitions and half-metallic states.

We report peculiar charge and spin transport properties in S-shaped silicene junctions with the Kane-Mele tight-binding model. In this work, we investigate the effects of electric and exchange fields on the charge and spin transport properties. Our results show that by applying a perpendicular electric field, metal-semiconductor and also semimetal-semiconductor phase transitions occur in our systems. Furthermore, full spin current can be obtained in the structures, so the half-metallic states are observable. Our results enable us to control charge and spin currents and provide new opportunities and applications in silicene-based electronics, optoelectronics, and spintronics.