Towards terahertz excitons in hydrogenated graphene superlattices

Carbon nanostructures, such as nanotubes and graphene nanoribbons, exhibit unique electronic and optical properties that make them very promising candidates for terahertz components. However, carbon nanotube and nanoribbon monolithic on-chip integration is challenging because it may results in significant change of their intrinsic properties after an embedment into a substrate. We investigate with first principles theoretical methods the successful routes of such integration and calculate electronic and optical properties of the integrated structures – two-dimensional graphene superlattices, where quasi-metallic and dielectric regions alternate by selective hydrogenation of graphene. It is shown that chemical engineering of the graphene surface can lead to strong and well-isolated excitonic absorption peaks in the far-infrared and possibly even terahertz frequencies.