Intrinsic negative differential resistance characteristics in zigzag boron nitride nanoribbons

Abstract

We investigate the charge transport properties of zigzag boron nitride nanoribbons (ZBNNRs) with various hydrogen passivations by employing density functional theory (DFT) combined with the non-equilibrium Green's function (NEGF) formalism. The calculated results reveal that the ZBNNR-based devices exhibit negative differential resistance (NDR) characteristics except those models whose both edges are passivated, due to the mechanism in which the overlap of bands near the Fermi level between the left and right electrodes gets smaller or disappears under a high bias. The NDR characteristics of the perfect ZBNNRs with one or two bare edges are weakly dependent on their widths. This is one intrinsic NDR characteristic of the ZBNNR-based devices, including some defective structures. The intuitive electronic current channels are plotted and analyzed to better understand the charge transport mechanisms. Our results suggest that the ZBNNR-based structures could be favorable candidates for preparing nanoscale NDR devices.