Band structure and absorption spectrum of double-walled zigzag carbon nanotubes in an electric field

• Published in: Carbon (New York) Vol. 44; no. 11; pp. 2323 - 2329
• Main Authors: Ho, G.W., Ho, Y.H., Li, T.S., Chang, C.P., Lin, M.F.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01-09-2006; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Carbon nanotubes; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Electronic structure; Exact sciences and technology; Fullerenes and related materials; diamonds, graphite; Materials science; Optical properties; Physics; Specific materials; Carbon nanotubes; Electronic structure; Optical properties; Binding; Density of states; Electronic properties; Semiconductor materials; Optical measurement; Energy; Fermi level; Transition elements; Frequency; Models; Absorption spectra; Magnetic fields; Structure; Electric fields; Curvature; Double wall
• ISSN: 0008-6223; 1873-3891
• DOI: 10.1016/j.carbon.2006.02.016

The electronic structure of the (9,
0)–(18,
0) double-walled zigzag carbon nanotubes in the presence of a uniform transverse electric field is studied by the tight-binding model. The electric field could induce the semiconductor–metal transition, change the direct gap into the indirect gap, alter the subband curvatures, destroy the double degeneracy, produce the new band-edge states, make more subbands group around the Fermi level, and widen the π-band width. Such effects are directly reflected in density of states and optical excitation spectra. The absorption spectra exhibit a lot of prominent peaks, mainly owing to the rich one-dimensional energy subbands. The intensity, the number, and the frequency of absorption peaks are strongly modulated by the electric field. The modulation of electronic and optical properties is amplified by the parallel magnetic field. The predicted electronic and optical properties can be, respectively, verified by the conductance measurements and the optical spectroscopy.