Pseudo-magnetic field distribution and pseudo-Landau levels in suspended graphene flakes

Combining the tight-binding approximation and linear elasticity theory for a planar membrane, we investigate stretching of a graphene flake assuming that two opposite edges of the sample are clamped by the contacts. We show that, depending on the aspect ratio of the flake and its orientation, gapped states may form in the membrane in the vicinity of the contacts. This gap in the pre-contact region should be the biggest for the armchair orientation of the flake and W/L≲1W/L≲1.

► Study of pseudo-magnetic fields in stretched graphene with side edges clamped.
► Applied linear elasticity theory for a planar membrane and tight-binding model.
► Pseudo-magnetic fields depend on the flake orientation and its aspect ratio.
► In zig–zag flakes, region of zero pseudo-magnetic field connects side contacts.
► Possibility of gapped states in armchair flakes with W/LW/L less or around 1.