Negative-Differential-Resistance Devices Achieved by Band-Structure Engineering in Silicene under Periodic Potentials

Abstract

An important development in modern electronics is the realization of band-structure engineering for the design of novel materials and devices. One possible way to realize band-structure engineering is by addition of periodic potentials to two-dimensional (2D) materials, such as graphene, to form a superstructure, known as a "superlattice.' Unlike the band gap of graphene, the band gap of silicene can be tuned by an out-of-plane electric field owing to its unusual buckled structure. In this work, we use the designable band gap of silicene and the band structure of superlattices, together with the spin and valley degrees of freedom, to propose a design principle for optimizing the performance of spin-and valley-dependent negative-differential-resistance (NDR) devices using silicene superlattices. On the basis of the effective Hamiltonian formalism, we predict that the peak-to-valley current ratio could be larger than most recently reported results achieved by 2D materials, suggesting that the silicene superlattice is a good candidate for realizing NDR devices. The design principle proposed in this work could also be extended to other layered materials with tunable band gaps. This could pave the way for advanced material and device designs based on band-gap engineering of 2D materials.