HEXAGONAL BORON NITRITE

An ultimate one-dimensional electronic channel in hexagonal boron nitride

In the field of 2-D electronics, the norm used to be that graphene is the main protagonist and hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) is its insulating ive . Researchers of the Center for Multidimensional Carbon Materials (CMCM) within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS, South Korea) made a discovery that might change the role of hBN. They have reported that stacking of ultrathin sheets of hBN in a particular way creates a conducting boundary with zero bandgap. In other words, the same material could block the flow of electrons, as a good insulator, and also conduct electricity in a specific location. Published in the journal Science Advances, this result is expected to raise interest in hBN by giving it a more active part in 2-D electronics.

Similarly to graphene, hBN is a 2-D material with high chemical, mechanical and thermal stability. hBN sheets resemble a chicken wire, and are made of hexagonal rings of alternating boron and nitrogen atoms, strongly bound together. However, unlike graphene, hBN is an insulator with a large bandgap of more than five electronVolts, which limits its applications.

"In contrast to the wide spectrum of proposed applications for graphene, hexagonal boron nitride is often regarded as an inert material, largely confined as substrate or electron barrier for 2-D material-based devices. When we began this research, we were convinced that reducing the bandgap of hBN could give to this material the versatility of graphene," says the first author, Hyo Ju Park.

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Source : phys.org

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