A Theoretical Study of Armchair Antimonene Nanoribbons in the Presence of Uniaxial Strain Based on First-Principles Calculations

The optimized geometryand also the electronic and transport propertiesof passivated edge armchair antimonene nanoribbons (ASbNRs) are studiedusing ab initio calculations. Due to quantum confinement,the size of the bandgap can be modulated from 1.2 eV to 2.4 eV (indirect),when the width is reduced from 5 nm to 1 nm, respectively. This studyfocuses on nanoribbons with a width of 5 nm (5-ASbNR) due to its higherpotential for fabrication and an acceptable bandgap for electronicapplications. Applying uniaxial compressive and tensile strain resultsin a reduction of the bandgap of the 5-ASbNR film. The indirect todirect bandgap transition was observed, when introducing a tensilestrain of more than +4%. Moreover, when a compressive strain above9% is introduced, semi-metallic behavior can be observed. By applyingcompressive (tensile) strain, the hole (electron) effective mass isreduced, thereby increasing the mobility of charge carriers. The studydemonstrates that the carrier mobility of ASbNR-based nanoelectronicdevices can be modulated by applying tensile or compressive strainon the ribbons.