Pressure effect on the spin-dependent electronic structure of Au intercalated h-BN/graphene/h-BN

The spin-dependent electronic structures of Au intercalated hexagonal-BN/graphene/ hexagonal-BN under pressure or electric field are examined on the basis of density-functional theory. Two kinds of doping concentrations are considered: one-monolayer Au doping and 1/4-monolayer Au doping. In one-monolayer Au doped structure, the large band gap of graphene is mainly induced by the B-C interaction, while the large spin-orbit effect is from the C-Au interaction. Both the band gap and the spin-orbit splitting can be modulated by pressure. In the 1/4-monolayer Au doped structure, the conduction band around the Gamma point is in the band gap of graphene with a Rashba constant of 0.12 eV angstrom/(h) over bar. The Rashba effect can also be modulated by pressure and electric field. Our study provides a possible method to manipulate the spin-dependent electronic structure of graphene by proximity effect and extract the large spin-orbit effect of Au atoms.