Multilayer silicene: clear evidence

Silicene: compelling experimental evidence for graphenelike two-dimensional silicon.

Because of its unique physical properties, graphene, a 2D honeycomb arrangement of carbon atoms, has attracted tremendous attention. Silicene, the graphene equivalent for silicon, could follow this trend, opening new perspectives for applications, especially due to its compatibility with Si-based electronics. Silicene has been theoretically predicted as a buckled honeycomb arrangement of Si ato...

Experimental evidence for epitaxial silicene on diboride thin films.

As the Si counterpart of graphene, silicene may be defined as an at least partially sp2-hybridized, atom-thick honeycomb layer of Si that possesses π-electronic bands. Here we show that two-dimensional, epitaxial silicene forms through surface segregation on zirconium diboride thin films grown on Si wafers. A particular buckling of silicene induced by the epitaxial relationship with the diborid...

Silicene: Recent theoretical advances

Core concept: silicene.

In 2003, physicists from the University of Manchester isolated flakes of graphene, a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb. The researchers described their methods in 2004 (1), and in 2010 they were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for discovering the wonder substance. Since then, researchers have shown that the 2D carbon material conducts electricity and is stronger than steel...

Giant magnetoresistance in silicene nanoribbons.

By performing first-principle quantum transport calculations, we predict a giant magnetoresistance in zigzag silicene nanoribbons (ZSiNRs) connecting two semi-infinite silicene electrodes through switch of the edge spin direction of ZSiNRs. Spin-filter efficiency of both the antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic ZSiNRs is sign-changeable with the bias voltage. Therefore, potential application of ...