Spin—Orbital Optical Minigaps in Silicon Nanotubes Si (n, n)

Abstract

The electron structure of silicon metal nanotubes Si (n, n) was calculated by the linearized augmented cylindrical wave (LACW) method with account for spin—orbital coupling. The calculations predict the formation of minigaps in hexagonal silicon nanotubes with energies of 1.89 ≥ E_g ≥ 0.34 meV for 5 ≤ n ≤ 20 due to the coupling of the electron spin with the electron orbital moment associated with the rotation of electrons around the tube axis.