Graphene-Based Integrated Electronic, Photonic and Spintronic Circuit

Abstract

A special class of nanoscale graphene triangular quantum dots (GTQDs) with zigzag edges fulfills all three functions needed for information processing: (i) size quantization turns graphene, a semimetal, into a semiconductor like silicon, with a bandgap tunable from THz to UV, enabling a GTQD-based single electron transistor for information processing; (ii) unlike silicon, GTQDs are equivalent to direct-gap semiconductors that absorb and emit light, and hence can be used for communication; and (iii) GTQDs exhibit a voltage-tunable magnetic moment that can be used for information storage. Therefore, graphene quantum dots might potentially be used as elements of graphene-based integrated electronic, photonic and spintronic circuit. This chapter describes progress toward the understanding of the electronic, optical and magnetic properties of graphene quantum dots. Controlled Vocabulary Terms electronic circuits; graphene; information management; integrated optoelectronics; magnetoelectronics; optical properties; photonics; semiconductor quantum dots © 2013 John Wiley. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.