Resonant Enhancement of Ion Transport in Graphene Channels by Alternating Electric Fields

Abstract

The rapid progress of artificial intelligence has exposed the inherent limitations of conventional chip technology, particularly high energy consumption, driving the emergence of neuromorphic chips and ionics. Using ab initio molecular dynamics simulations, we investigated K⁺ ion-filled graphene channels at representative density (4.36×l0¹⁴ cm⁻²) under alternating electric field modulation along the z-direction. Through systematic frequency scanning, we discovered that a 2.1 THz field achieves remarkable transport enhancement with ca. 70% efficiency increase at 300 K and ca. 52% ion-ion correlation enhancement, exhibiting strong frequency selectivity. Temperature-dependent analysis (250–350 K) reveals that the resonant enhancement is robust against thermal fluctuations, with the resonant frequency remaining at 2.1 THz across this temperature range, demonstrating practical applicability. Phonon density of states analysis reveals that 2.1 THz corresponds to the intrinsic collective oscillation mode of confined K⁺ ions rather than graphene lattice vibrations, establishing the microscopic origin of resonance. Detailed dynamics analysis shows that resonant excitation induces velocity homogenization and temporal synchronization, constituting the enhancement mechanism. These atomic-level insights establish a framework for active modulation through frequency-selective excitation, providing insights for designing high-efficiency, tunable ion transistors toward ultralow energy-consumption neuromorphic chips.

Keywords

Graphene channel / Ion transport / Alternating electric field / Resonant enhancement

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Jilin University, The Editorial Department of Chemical Research in Chinese Universities and Springer-Verlag GmbH