Theory of resonant tunneling in bilayer-graphene/hexagonal-boron-nitride heterostructures

A theory is developed for calculating vertical tunneling current between two sheets of bilayer graphene separated by a thin, insulating layer of hexagonal boron nitride, neglecting many-body effects. Results are presented using physical parameters that enable comparison of the theory with recently reported experimental results. Observed resonant tunneling and negative differential resistance in the current-voltage characteristics are explained in terms of the electrostatically-induced band gap, gate voltage modulation, density of states near the band edge, and resonances with the upper sub-band. These observations are compared to ones from similar heterostructures formed with monolayer graphene. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.