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The band structures of strained graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) are examined using a tight-binding Hamiltonian that is directly related to the type and magnitude of strain. Compared to a two-dimensional graphene whose band gap remains close to zero even if a large strain is applied, the band gap of a graphene nanoribbon (GNR) is sensitive to both uniaxial and shear strains. The effect of strain on the electronic structure of a GNR depends strongly on its edge shape and structural indices. For an armchair GNR, a weak uniaxial strain changes the band gap in a linear fashion, whereas a large strain results in periodic oscillation of the band gap. On the other hand, shear strain always tends to reduce the band gap. For a zigzag GNR, the effect of strain is to change the spin polarization at the edges of GNR, and thereby modulate the band gap. A simple analytical model, which agrees with the numerical results, is proposed to interpret the response of the band gap to strain in armchair GNRs.
The band structures of strained graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) are examined using a tight-binding Hamiltonian that is directly related to the type and magnitude of strain. Compared to a two-dimensional graphene whose band gap remains close to zero even if a large strain is applied, the band gap of a graphene nanoribbon (GNR) is sensitive to both uniaxial and shear strains. The effect of strain on the electronic structure of a GNR depends strongly on its edge shape and structural indices. For an armchair GNR, a weak uniaxial strain changes the band gap in a linear fashion, whereas a large strain results in periodic oscillation of the band gap. On the other hand, shear strain always tends to reduce the band gap. For a zigzag GNR, the effect of strain is to change the spin polarization at the edges of GNR, and thereby modulate the band gap. A simple analytical model, which agrees with the numerical results, is proposed to interpret the response of the band gap to strain in armchair GNRs.
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This work was supported by Office of Naval Research (ONR) and the National Science Foundation (NSF).
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