Wannier excitons confined in hexagonal boron nitride triangular quantum dots.

With the ever-growing interest in quantum computing, understanding the behavior of excitons in monolayer quantum dots has become a topic of great relevance. In this paper, we consider a Wannier exciton confined in a triangular quantum dot of hexagonal boron nitride. We begin by outlining the adequate basis functions to describe a particle in a triangular enclosure, analyzing their degeneracy and symmetries. Afterwards, we discuss the excitonic Hamiltonian inside the quantum dot and study the influence of the quantum dot dimensions on the excitonic states.

Excitonic instability in transition metal dichalcogenides.

When transition-metal dichalcogenide monolayers lack inversion symmetry, their low-energy single particle spectrum near some high-symmetry points can, in some cases, be described by tilted massive Dirac Hamiltonians. The so-called Janus materials fall into that category. Inversion symmetry can also be broken by the application of out-of-plane electric fields, or by the mere presence of a substrate. Here we explore the properties of excitons in TMDC monolayers lacking inversion symmetry. We find that exciton binding energies can be larger than the electronic band gap, making such materials promising candidates to host the elusive exciton insulator phase. We also investigate the excitonic contribution to their optical conductivity and discuss the associated optical selection rules.

Laser induced enhanced coupling between photons and squeezed magnons in antiferromagnets.

In this paper we consider a honeycomb antiferromagnet subject to an external laser field. Obtaining a time-independent effective Hamiltonian, we find that the external laser renormalizes the exchange interaction between the in-plane components of the spin-operators, and induces a synthetic Dzyaloshinskii-Moria interaction (DMI) between second neighbors. The former allows the control of the magnon dispersion's bandwidth and the latter breaks time-reversal symmetry inducing non-reciprocity in momentum space. The eigen-excitations of the system correspond to squeezed magnons whose squeezing parameters depend on the properties of the laser. When studying how these spin excitations couple with cavity photons, we obtain a coupling strength which can be enhanced by an order of magnitude via careful tuning of the laser's intensity, when compared to the case where the laser is absent. The transmission plots through the cavity are presented, allowing the mapping of the magnons' dispersion relation.

Enhancing the hybridization of plasmons in graphene with 2D superconductor collective modes.

We explore ways in which the close proximity between graphene sheets and monolayers of 2D superconductors can lead to hybridization between their collective excitations. We consider heterostructures formed by combinations of graphene sheets and 2D superconductor monolayers. The broad range of energies in which the graphene plasmon can exist, together with its tunability, makes such heterostructures promising platforms for probing the many-body physics of superconductors. We show that the hybridization between the graphene plasmon and the Bardasis-Schrieffer mode of a 2D superconductor results in clear signatures on the near-field reflection coefficient of the heterostructure, which in principle can be observed in scanning near-field microscopy experiments.

Harnessing ultraconfined graphene plasmons to probe the electrodynamics of superconductors.

We show that the Higgs mode of a superconductor, which is usually challenging to observe by far-field optics, can be made clearly visible using near-field optics by harnessing ultraconfined graphene plasmons. As near-field sources we investigate two examples: graphene plasmons and quantum emitters. In both cases the coupling to the Higgs mode is clearly visible. In the case of the graphene plasmons, the coupling is signaled by a clear anticrossing stemming from the interaction of graphene plasmons with the Higgs mode of the superconductor. In the case of the quantum emitters, the Higgs mode is observable through the Purcell effect. When combining the superconductor, graphene, and the quantum emitters, a number of experimental knobs become available for unveiling and studying the electrodynamics of superconductors.

Optical absorption of single-layer hexagonal boron nitride in the ultraviolet.

In this paper we theoretically describe the absorption of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) single layer. We develop the necessary formalism and present an efficient method for solving the Wannier equation for excitons. We give predictions for the absorption of hBN on quartz and on graphite. We compare our predictions with recently published results (Elias et al 2019 Nat. Commun. 10 2639) for a monolayer of hBN on graphite. The spontaneous radiative lifetime of excitons in hBN is also computed. We argue that the optical properties of hBN in the ultraviolet are very useful for the study of peptides and other biomolecules.

Graphene field-effect transistor array with integrated electrolytic gates scaled to 200 mm.

Ten years have passed since the beginning of graphene research. In this period we have witnessed breakthroughs both in fundamental and applied research. However, the development of graphene devices for mass production has not yet reached the same level of progress. The architecture of graphene field-effect transistors (FET) has not significantly changed, and the integration of devices at the wafer scale has generally not been sought. Currently, whenever an electrolyte-gated FET (EGFET) is used, an external, cumbersome, out-of-plane gate electrode is required. Here, an alternative architecture for graphene EGFET is presented. In this architecture, source, drain, and gate are in the same plane, eliminating the need for an external gate electrode and the use of an additional reservoir to confine the electrolyte inside the transistor active zone. This planar structure with an integrated gate allows for wafer-scale fabrication of high-performance graphene EGFETs, with carrier mobility up to 1800 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1). As a proof-of principle, a chemical sensor was achieved. It is shown that the sensor can discriminate between saline solutions of different concentrations. The proposed architecture will facilitate the mass production of graphene sensors, materializing the potential of previous achievements in fundamental and applied graphene research.

Analytical solution of electronic transport through a benzene molecule using lattice Green's functions.

Using a Green's function formalism we derive analytical expressions for electronic transmittance through a benzene ring. To motivate the approach we first solve the resonant level system and then extend the method to the benzene case. These results can be used to validate numerical methods.

Optical conductivity of ABA stacked graphene trilayer: mid-IR resonance due to band nesting.

The band structure and the optical conductivity of an ABA (Bernal-type) stacked graphene trilayer are calculated. It is shown that, under appropriate doping, a strong resonant peak develops in the optical conductivity, located at the frequency corresponding to approximately 1.4 times the interlayer hopping energy and caused by the 'nesting' of two nearly parabolic bands in the electronic spectrum. The intensity of this resonant absorption can be controlled by adjusting the gate voltage. The effect is robust with respect to increasing temperature.

Strong light-matter interaction in systems described by a modified Dirac equation.

The bulk states of some materials, such as topological insulators, are described by a modified Dirac equation. Such systems may have trivial and non-trivial phases. In this article, we show that in the non-trivial phase a strong light-matter interaction exists in a two-dimensional system, which leads to an optical conductivity at least one order of magnitude larger than that of graphene.

Exact solution for square-wave grating covered with graphene: surface plasmon-polaritons in the terahertz range.

We provide an analytical solution to the problem of scattering of electromagnetic radiation by a square-wave grating with a flat graphene sheet on top. We show that for deep groves there is a strong plasmonic response, with light absorption in the graphene sheet reaching more than 45% due to the excitation of surface plasmon-polaritons. The case of a grating with a graphene sheet presenting an induced periodic modulation of the conductivity is also discussed.

Scattering by linear defects in graphene: a tight-binding approach.

We develop an analytical scattering formalism for computing the transmittance through periodic defect lines within the tight-binding model of graphene. We first illustrate the method with a relatively simple case, the pentagon-only defect line. Afterwards, more complex defect lines are treated, namely the zz(558) and the zz(5757) ones. The formalism developed uses only simple tight-binding concepts, reducing the problem to matrix manipulations which can be easily worked out by any computational algebraic calculator.

On Coulomb drag in double layer systems.

We argue, for a wide class of systems including graphene, that in the low temperature, high density, large separation and strong screening limits the drag resistivity behaves as d(-4), where d is the separation between the two layers. The results are independent of the energy dispersion relation, the dependence on momentum of the transport time, and the electronic wave function structure. We discuss how a correct treatment of the electron-electron interactions in an inhomogeneous dielectric background changes the theoretical analysis of the experimental drag results of Kim et al (2011 Phys. Rev. B 83 161401). We find that a quantitative understanding of the available experimental data (Kim et al 2011 Phys. Rev. B 83 161401) for drag in graphene is lacking.

Light scattering by a medium with a spatially modulated optical conductivity: the case of graphene.

We describe light scattering from a graphene sheet having a modulated optical conductivity. We show that such modulation enables the excitation of surface plasmon polaritons by an electromagnetic wave impinging at normal incidence. The resulting surface plasmon polaritons are responsible for a substantial increase of electromagnetic radiation absorption by the graphene sheet. The origin of the modulation can be due either to a periodic strain field or to adatoms (or absorbed molecules) with a modulated adsorption profile.

Field-effect tunneling transistor based on vertical graphene heterostructures.

An obstacle to the use of graphene as an alternative to silicon electronics has been the absence of an energy gap between its conduction and valence bands, which makes it difficult to achieve low power dissipation in the OFF state. We report a bipolar field-effect transistor that exploits the low density of states in graphene and its one-atomic-layer thickness. Our prototype devices are graphene heterostructures with atomically thin boron nitride or molybdenum disulfide acting as a vertical transport barrier. They exhibit room-temperature switching ratios of ≈50 and ≈10,000, respectively. Such devices have potential for high-frequency operation and large-scale integration.

Excitonic effects in the optical conductivity of gated graphene.

We study the effect of electron-electron interactions in the optical conductivity of graphene under an applied gate and derive a generalization of Elliott's formula, commonly used for semiconductors, for the optical intensity. We show that excitonic resonances are responsible for several features of the experimentally measured midinfrared response of graphene such as the increase of the conductivity beyond the universal value above the Fermi blocked regime, the broadening of the absorption at the threshold, and the decrease of the optical conductivity at higher frequencies.

Electronic properties of a biased graphene bilayer.

We study, within the tight-binding approximation, the electronic properties of a graphene bilayer in the presence of an external electric field applied perpendicular to the system-a biased bilayer. The effect of the perpendicular electric field is included through a parallel plate capacitor model, with screening correction at the Hartree level. The full tight-binding description is compared with its four-band and two-band continuum approximations, and the four-band model is shown to always be a suitable approximation for the conditions realized in experiments. The model is applied to real biased bilayer devices, made out of either SiC or exfoliated graphene, and good agreement with experimental results is found, indicating that the model is capturing the key ingredients, and that a finite gap is effectively being controlled externally. Analysis of experimental results regarding the electrical noise and cyclotron resonance further suggests that the model can be seen as a good starting point for understanding the electronic properties of graphene bilayer. Also, we study the effect of electron-hole asymmetry terms, such as the second-nearest-neighbour hopping energies t' (in-plane) and γ(4) (inter-layer), and the on-site energy Δ.

Scattering in one-dimensional heterostructures described by the Dirac equation.

We consider electronic transport across one-dimensional heterostructures described by the Dirac equation. We discuss the cases where both the velocity and the mass are position dependent. We show how to generalize the Dirac Hamiltonian in order to obtain a Hermitian problem for spatial dependent velocity. We solve exactly the case where the position dependence of both velocity and mass is linear. In the case of velocity profiles, it is shown that there is no backscattering of Dirac electrons. In the case of the mass profile, backscattering exists. In this case, it is shown that the linear mass profile induces less backscattering than the abrupt step-like profile. Our results are a first step towards the study of similar problems in graphene.

The transport properties of graphene.

We review the transport properties of graphene, considering both the case of bulk graphene and that of nanoribbons of this material at zero magnetic field. We discuss: Klein tunneling, transport by evanescent waves when the chemical potential crosses the Dirac point, the conductance of narrow graphene ribbons, the optical conductivity of pristine graphene, and the effect of disorder on the DC conductivity of graphene.

Dirac electrons in graphene-based quantum wires and quantum dots.

In this paper we analyse the electronic properties of Dirac electrons in finite-size ribbons and in circular and hexagonal quantum dots. We show that due to the formation of sub-bands in the ribbons it is possible to spatially localize some of the electronic modes using a p-n-p junction. We also show that scattering of confined Dirac electrons in a narrow channel by an infinitely massive wall induces mode mixing, giving a qualitative reason for the fact that an analytical solution to the spectrum of Dirac electrons confined in a square box has not yet been found. A first attempt to solve this problem is presented. We find that only the trivial case k = 0 has a solution that does not require the existence of evanescent modes. We also study the spectrum of quantum dots of graphene in a perpendicular magnetic field. This problem is studied in the Dirac approximation, and its solution requires a numerical method whose details are given. The formation of Landau levels in the dot is discussed. The inclusion of the Coulomb interaction among the electrons is considered at the self-consistent Hartree level, taking into account the interaction with an image charge density necessary to keep the back-gate electrode at zero potential. The effect of a radial confining potential is discussed. The density of states of circular and hexagonal quantum dots, described by the full tight-binding model, is studied using the Lanczos algorithm. This is necessary to access the detailed shape of the density of states close to the Dirac point when one studies large systems. Our study reveals that zero-energy edge states are also present in graphene quantum dots. Our results are relevant for experimental research in graphene nanostructures. The style of writing is pedagogical, in the hope that newcomers to the subject will find this paper a good starting point for their research.