THz plasmonics and electronics in germanene nanostrips

Abstract Germanene nanostrips (GeNSs) have garnered significant attention in modern semiconductor technology due to their exceptional physical characteristics, positioning them as promising candidates for a wide range of applications. GeNSs exhibit a two-dimensional (buckled) honeycomb-like lattice, which is similar to germanene but with controllable bandgaps. The modeling of GeNSs is essential for developing appropriate synthesis methods as it enables understanding and controlling the growth process of these systems. Indeed, one can adjust the strip width, which in turn can tune the bandgap and plasmonic response of the material to meet specific device requirements. In this study, the objective is to investigate the electronic behavior and THz plasmon features of GeNSs (≥100 nm wide). A semi-analytical model based on the charge-carrier velocity of freestanding germanene is utilized for this purpose. The charge-carrier velocity of freestanding germanene is determined through the GW approximation ( m·s −1 ). Within the width range of 100 to 500 nm, GeNSs exhibit narrow bandgaps, typically measuring only a few meV. Specifically, upon analysis, it was found that the bandgaps of the investigated GeNSs ranged between 29 and 6 meV. As well, these nanostrips exhibit -like plasmon dispersions, with their connected plasmonic frequency (≤30 THz) capable of being manipulated by varying parameters such as strip width, excitation plasmon angle, and sample quality. These manipulations can lead to frequency variations, either increasing or decreasing, as well as shifts towards larger momentum values. The outcomes of our study serve as a foundational motivation for future experiments, and further confirmation is needed to validate the reported results.