Strain and screening effects on field emission properties of armchair graphene nanoribbon arrays: a first-principles study

Abstract

The field screening effect on the field-emission properties of armchair graphene nanoribbons (AGNRs) under strain has been studied using first-principles calculations with local density approximation (LDA). Using the zone folding method with the effect of a dipole barrier along with the work function of strained graphene, we can obtain the work function of AGNR of any width under strain, confirmed with the LDA calculations. We have systematically investigated the effects of inter-ribbon distance and ribbon width on the work function of AGNR arrays. It is found that the work function of AGNR arrays increases rapidly as the inter-ribbon distance D_x increases, which is caused by the positive dipole at the edge of the ribbon. Using a simple linear interpolation model, we can obtain the work function of AGNRs of any ribbon-width and inter-ribbon distance. The dependences of the inter-ribbon distance and strain on the field enhancement factor have been determined. The enhancement factor reaches about 90% of its saturated value as the inter-ribbon distance approaches two times the ribbon-width. For a tensile strain, the field enhancement factor increases with applied strain while for a compressive one, the field enhancement factor is nearly independent. The effects of inter-ribbon distance and strain on the enhancement factor can be explained by the interlayer and intralayer screening effects, respectively.