Spin stiffness in zigzag graphene nanoribbon under electric field

Abstract

Abstract We considered the effect of the electric field on the spin stiffness in the zigzag graphene nanoribbon by means of first-principles calculation. To reach the intention, a fixed planar spiral structure was formed together with a spin constraint method in the antiferromagnetic edge states of the zigzag graphene nanoribbon. The spin stiffness was then obtained by fitting the total energy difference in a set of spiral vector via the Heisenberg model. We showed that the trend of the spin stiffness changes as the electric field increases up to certain value. This means that the electric field can control the spin stiffness in the zigzag graphene nanoribbon.