Physical properties of silicene

Abstract

In this chapter, we discuss the physical properties of free-standing silicene. Silicene is a single atomic layer of silicon much like graphene. The interest in silicene is exactly the same as that for graphene, in being two-dimensional and possessing a Dirac cone. One advantage relies on its possible application in electronics, whereby its natural compatibility with the current Si technology might make fabrication much more of a commercial reality. Since free-standing has not yet been made, all of the results are theoretical in nature, though most properties are not expected to differ significantly for silicene on a substrate.