We report variation of the work function for single and bi-layer graphene devices measured by scanning Kelvin probe microscopy (SKPM). Using the electric field effect, the work function of graphene can be adjusted as the gate voltage tunes the Fermi level across the charge neutrality point. Upon biasing the device, the surface potential map obtained by SKPM provides a reliable way to measure the contact resistance of individual electrodes contacting graphene.
Exciton dissociation at heterojunctions in photovoltaic devices is not completely understood despite being fundamentally necessary to generate electrical current. One of the fundamental issues for ab initio calculations is that hybrid interfaces combining materials with Wannier-Mott excitons and those with Frenkel excitons can easily require thousands of atoms to encompass the exciton-wave function. The problem is further exacerbated by a large permittivity difference at the interface, which requires meso-scale boundary conditions to accurately predict electrostatic potentials. For these reasons, we have constructed a model of excited states at hybrid interfaces based on an effective mass Schroedinger equation. In this continuum model, carrier wave functions are represented by their envelope function rather than resolving the atomic scale variations. Electrostatic interactions are accounted for using the Poisson equation. For our model system, we use a pentacene/silicon interface. Because carrier mobility is low in pentacene relative to silicon, the hole is frozen such that it only interacts with the electron though an immobile positive charge density. The inputs to this model are as follows: dielectric permittivities, electron effective masses, interfacial width, band alignment, and the hole wave function. We find that the energetic favorability of charge transfer states relative to bulk excitons is most easily controlled by band alignment. However, when both states have similar energies, interface proximity and electrostatics become important secondary means of tuning the relative stability of these states.
We suggest a method for the self-consistent calculations of characteristics of metal films in dielectric environment. Within a modified Kohn-Sham method and stabilized jellium model, the most interesting case of asymmetric metal-dielectric sandwiches is considered, for which dielectric media are different from the two sides of the film. As an example, we focus on Na, Al and Pb. We calculate the spectrum, electron work function, and surface energy of polycrystalline and crystalline films placed into passive isolators. We find that a dielectric environment generally leads to the decrease of both the electron work function and surface energy. It is revealed that the change of the work function is determined only by the average of dielectric constants from both sides of the film.
Alkali metal dosing (AMD) has been widely used as a way to control doping without chemical substitution. This technique, in combination with angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), often provides an opportunity to observe unexpected phenomena. However, the amount of transferred charge and the corresponding change in the electronic structure vary significantly depending on the material. Here, we report study on the correlation between the sample work function and alkali metal induced electronic structure change for three iron-based superconductors: FeSe, Ba(Fe$_{0.94}$Co$_{0.06}$)$_{2}$As$_{2}$ and NaFeAs which share a similar Fermi surface topology. Electronic structure change upon monolayer of alkali metal dosing and the sample work function were measured by ARPES. Our results show that the degree of electronic structure change is proportional to the difference between the work function of the sample and Mullikens absolute electronegativity of the dosed alkali metal. This finding provides a possible way to estimate the AMD induced electronic structure change.
Results of quantum mechanical simulations of the influence of edge disorder on transport in graphene nanoribbon metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) are reported. The addition of edge disorder significantly reduces ON-state currents and increases OFF-state currents, and introduces wide variability across devices. These effects decrease as ribbon widths increase and as edges become smoother. However the bandgap decreases with increasing width, thereby increasing the band-to-band tunneling mediated subthreshold leakage current even with perfect nanoribbons. These results suggest that without atomically precise edge control during fabrication, MOSFET performance gains through use of graphene will be difficult to achieve.