The transport properties of Kekulé-ordered graphene p–n junction

Abstract

Abstract The transport properties of electrons in graphene p–n junction with uniform Kekulé lattice distortion have been studied using the tight-binding model and the Landauer–Büttiker formalism combined with the nonequilibrium Green’s function method. In the Kekulé-ordered graphene, the original K and Kʹ valleys of the pristine graphene are folded together due to the 3 × 3 enlargement of the primitive cell. When the chiral symmetry breaking of a valley leads to a single-valley phase, there are special transport properties of Dirac electrons in the Kekulé lattice. In the O-shaped Kekulé graphene p–n junction, Klein tunneling is suppressed, and only resonance tunneling occurs. In the Y-shaped Kekulé graphene p–n junction, the transport of electrons is dominated by Klein tunneling. When the on-site energy modification is introduced into the Y-shaped Kekulé structure, both Klein tunneling and resonance tunneling occur, and the electron tunneling is enhanced. Under strong magnetic fields, the conductance of O-shaped and on-site energy-modified Y-shaped Kekulé graphene p–n junctions is non-zero due to the presence of resonance tunneling. It is also found that the disorder can enhance conductance, with conductance plateaus forming in the appropriate range of disorder strength.