Engineering the band gap of SiC nanotubes with a transverse electric field

Abstract

The effects of a transverse electric field, of intensities ranging from 0 to 0.20 V/Å, on the band gap width of SiC nanotubes (SiCNTs) are investigated by means of density functional theory. A decrease in the band gap width, as a function of the electric field, is observed and the mechanism for such reduction, as well as its dependence on the nanotube diameter, is analyzed. An empirical model to describe the field dependence of the band gap is also proposed