Transport properties in periodically modulated zigzag silicene nanoribbon

Abstract We study theoretically the electronic transport properties of zigzag silicene nanoribbon superlattices subject to a periodic electric field perpendicular to the surface of silicene. Our results show that the conductivity of the system depends on the superlattice structural parameters and show effects analogous to those found with two-dimensional semiconductor superlattices. For a superlattice with N b barriers, a series of resonant peaks, each of which is split into ( N b − 1 ) subpeaks, and transmission blockade regions appear in the conductance spectrum, which indicates the formation of minibands and minigaps. These silicene-based quantum structures can provide concepts for the design nanodevices.