Controllable Low-Bias Rectifying Behaviors Induced by AA-P2 Dopants in Armchair Silicene Nanoribbons with Different Widths

Abstract

The electronic transport properties and rectifying behaviors of armchair silicene nanoribbons (ASiNRs) were investigated by using first-principles density functional theory, in which the left lead was pristine ASiNR and the right lead was doped ASiNR where two phosphorus (P) atoms replaced a pair of adjacent silicon atoms in the same sublattice A (AA-P2). Two types of AA-P2-doped models were considered for P dopant-substitute silicon atoms at the center or edges. The results showed that the rectification behavior of the system with a large rectifying ratio could be found, which could be modulated by changing the width of the silicene nanoribbons or the position of the AA-P2 dopant. Mechanisms were revealed to explain the rectifying behaviors and provide a theoretical basis for semiconductor rectifier devices.