Strain-Engineering Anisotropic Electrical Conductance of Phosphorene and Few-Layer Black Phosphorus

Newly fabricated monolayer phosphorene and its few-layer structures are expected to be promising for electronic and optical applications because of their finite direct band gaps and sizable but anisotropic electronic mobility. By first-principles simulations, we show that this unique anisotropic conductance can be controlled by using simple strain conditions. With the appropriate biaxial or uniaxial strain, we can rotate the preferred conducting direction by 90 degrees. This will be of useful for exploring quantum Hall effects, and exotic electronic and mechanical applications based on phosphorene.