Tunable electronic transport properties of silicon-fullerene-linked nanowires: Semiconductor, conducting wire, and tunnel diode

We explore the possibility of controllable tuning of the electronic transport properties of silicon-fullerene-linked nanowires by encapsulating guest atoms into their cages. Our first-principles calculations demonstrate that the guest-free nanowires are semiconductors, and do not conduct electricity. The iodine or sodium doping improves the transport properties, and makes the nanowires metallic. In the junctions of I-doped and Na-doped NWs, the current travels through the boundary by quantum tunneling. More significantly, the junctions have asymmetric $I\text{\ensuremath{-}}{V}_{b}$ curves, which could be used as rectifiers. The current-voltage curves are interpreted by band-overlapping models. Tunable electronic transport properties of silicon-fullerene-linked nanowires could find many applications such as field-effect transistors, conducting wires, and tunnel diodes.