Electronic transport properties of an armchair boron-nitride nanotube

We present a theoretical study of electron transport properties through boron-nitride nanotube (BNNT) and contrast them to those of carbon nanotube (CNT). The work is based on a tight-binding Hamiltonian model within the framework of a generalized Green's function technique and relies on the Landauer-Butikker formalism as the basis for studying the current-voltage characteristic of this system. We use an armchair single-walled BNNT in the CNT/BNNT/CNT structure. We numerically compute the transport properties in terms of transmission and current-voltage characteristic. Our calculations show that the electron transport can open a conduction gap in the CNT/BNNT/CNT structure. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.