Exploring electronic transport properties of AlN nanoribbon molecular device – A first-principles investigation

•The electronic transport properties of novel AlN nanoribbon are studied.•The density of states and transmission spectrum of AlN nanoribbon depends on applied bias voltage.•The transmission pathways along the nanoribbon depend on the bias voltage.•The electron density is found to be more in nitrogen sites than in aluminium sites.•The transport property of AlN nanoribbon helps in tailoring a new functional material with enhanced electronic properties.

The novel AlN nanoribbon molecular device is investigated using density functional theory for different voltage bias. The electronic transport properties of AlN nanoribbon are discussed in terms of device density of states, electron density, transmission spectrum and transmission pathways. It is evident that increasing the bias voltage leads to transition of electrons from the valence band to the conduction band across AlN nanoribbon. The electron density is found to be more along nitrogen sites. The transmission increases with the increase in bias voltage. The transmission can be fine-tuned at different energy intervals by varying the bias potential. The transmission pathways provide the insight for transmission of electrons along AlN nanoribbon. Mostly, the transmission is observed along the top and bottom regions of AlN nanoribbon. The results of the present work will give a clear picture to improve the electronic transport property along AlN nanoribbon.

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