Abstract. We discuss the electronic properties of graphene and graphene nanoribbons including 'pseudo-Rashba' spin–orbit coupling. After summarizing the bulk properties of massless and massive Dirac particles, we first analyze the scattering behavior close to an infinite mass and zigzag boundary. For low energies, we observe strong deviations from the usual spin-conserving behavior at high energies such as reflection acting as a spin polarizer or switch. This results in spin polarization along the direction of the boundary due to the appearance of evanescent modes in the case of non-equilibrium or when there is no coherence between the two one-particle branches. We then discuss the spin and density distribution of graphene nanoribbons.

Received 8 June 2009
Published 2 November 2009