487 research outputs found
Atomically thin boron nitride: a tunnelling barrier for graphene devices
We investigate the electronic properties of heterostructures based on
ultrathin hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) crystalline layers sandwiched between
two layers of graphene as well as other conducting materials (graphite, gold).
The tunnel conductance depends exponentially on the number of h-BN atomic
layers, down to a monolayer thickness. Exponential behaviour of I-V
characteristics for graphene/BN/graphene and graphite/BN/graphite devices is
determined mainly by the changes in the density of states with bias voltage in
the electrodes. Conductive atomic force microscopy scans across h-BN terraces
of different thickness reveal a high level of uniformity in the tunnel current.
Our results demonstrate that atomically thin h-BN acts as a defect-free
dielectric with a high breakdown field; it offers great potential for
applications in tunnel devices and in field-effect transistors with a high
carrier density in the conducting channel.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure
Boron Nitride Monolayer: A Strain-Tunable Nanosensor
The influence of triaxial in-plane strain on the electronic properties of a
hexagonal boron-nitride sheet is investigated using density functional theory.
Different from graphene, the triaxial strain localizes the molecular orbitals
of the boron-nitride flake in its center depending on the direction of the
applied strain. The proposed technique for localizing the molecular orbitals
that are close to the Fermi level in the center of boron nitride flakes can be
used to actualize engineered nanosensors, for instance, to selectively detect
gas molecules. We show that the central part of the strained flake adsorbs
polar molecules more strongly as compared with an unstrained sheet.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figure
Tuning ultrafast electron thermalization pathways in a van der Waals heterostructure
Ultrafast electron thermalization - the process leading to Auger
recombination, carrier multiplication via impact ionization and hot carrier
luminescence - occurs when optically excited electrons in a material undergo
rapid electron-electron scattering to redistribute excess energy and reach
electronic thermal equilibrium. Due to extremely short time and length scales,
the measurement and manipulation of electron thermalization in nanoscale
devices remains challenging even with the most advanced ultrafast laser
techniques. Here, we overcome this challenge by leveraging the atomic thinness
of two-dimensional van der Waals (vdW) materials in order to introduce a highly
tunable electron transfer pathway that directly competes with electron
thermalization. We realize this scheme in a graphene-boron nitride-graphene
(G-BN-G) vdW heterostructure, through which optically excited carriers are
transported from one graphene layer to the other. By applying an interlayer
bias voltage or varying the excitation photon energy, interlayer carrier
transport can be controlled to occur faster or slower than the intralayer
scattering events, thus effectively tuning the electron thermalization pathways
in graphene. Our findings, which demonstrate a novel means to probe and
directly modulate electron energy transport in nanoscale materials, represent
an important step toward designing and implementing novel optoelectronic and
energy-harvesting devices with tailored microscopic properties.Comment: Accepted to Nature Physic
On Switch-Reference Phenomena in Kolyma Yukaghir
「環太平洋の言語」成果報告書A2-002ELPR publication series A2-00
Application of Graphene within Optoelectronic Devices and Transistors
Scientists are always yearning for new and exciting ways to unlock graphene's
true potential. However, recent reports suggest this two-dimensional material
may harbor some unique properties, making it a viable candidate for use in
optoelectronic and semiconducting devices. Whereas on one hand, graphene is
highly transparent due to its atomic thickness, the material does exhibit a
strong interaction with photons. This has clear advantages over existing
materials used in photonic devices such as Indium-based compounds. Moreover,
the material can be used to 'trap' light and alter the incident wavelength,
forming the basis of the plasmonic devices. We also highlight upon graphene's
nonlinear optical response to an applied electric field, and the phenomenon of
saturable absorption. Within the context of logical devices, graphene has no
discernible band-gap. Therefore, generating one will be of utmost importance.
Amongst many others, some existing methods to open this band-gap include
chemical doping, deformation of the honeycomb structure, or the use of carbon
nanotubes (CNTs). We shall also discuss various designs of transistors,
including those which incorporate CNTs, and others which exploit the idea of
quantum tunneling. A key advantage of the CNT transistor is that ballistic
transport occurs throughout the CNT channel, with short channel effects being
minimized. We shall also discuss recent developments of the graphene tunneling
transistor, with emphasis being placed upon its operational mechanism. Finally,
we provide perspective for incorporating graphene within high frequency
devices, which do not require a pre-defined band-gap.Comment: Due to be published in "Current Topics in Applied Spectroscopy and
the Science of Nanomaterials" - Springer (Fall 2014). (17 pages, 19 figures
Planar and van der Waals heterostructures for vertical tunnelling single electron transistors
Despite a rich choice of two-dimensional materials, which exists these days, heterostructures, both vertical (van der Waals) and in-plane, offer an unprecedented control over the properties and functionalities of the resulted structures. Thus, planar heterostructures allow p-n junctions between different two-dimensional semiconductors and graphene nanoribbons with well-defined edges; and vertical heterostructures resulted in the observation of superconductivity in purely carbon-based systems and realisation of vertical tunnelling transistors. Here we demonstrate simultaneous use of in-plane and van der Waals heterostructures to build vertical single electron tunnelling transistors. We grow graphene quantum dots inside the matrix of hexagonal boron nitride, which allows a dramatic reduction of the number of localised states along the perimeter of the quantum dots. The use of hexagonal boron nitride tunnel barriers as contacts to the graphene quantum dots make our transistors reproducible and not dependent on the localised states, opening even larger flexibility when designing future devices
Cross-sectional imaging of individual layers and buried interfaces of graphene-based heterostructures and superlattices
By stacking various two-dimensional (2D) atomic crystals [1] on top of each
other, it is possible to create multilayer heterostructures and devices with
designed electronic properties [2-5]. However, various adsorbates become
trapped between layers during their assembly, and this not only affects the
resulting quality but also prevents the formation of a true artificial layered
crystal upheld by van der Waals interaction, creating instead a laminate glued
together by contamination. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has shown
that graphene and boron nitride monolayers, the two best characterized 2D
crystals, are densely covered with hydrocarbons (even after thermal annealing
in high vacuum) and exhibit only small clean patches suitable for atomic
resolution imaging [6-10]. This observation seems detrimental for any realistic
prospect of creating van der Waals materials and heterostructures with
atomically sharp interfaces. Here we employ cross sectional TEM to take a side
view of several graphene-boron nitride heterostructures. We find that the
trapped hydrocarbons segregate into isolated pockets, leaving the interfaces
atomically clean. Moreover, we observe a clear correlation between interface
roughness and the electronic quality of encapsulated graphene. This work proves
the concept of heterostructures assembled with atomic layer precision and
provides their first TEM images
Towards a large-scale quantum simulator on diamond surface at room temperature
Strongly-correlated quantum many-body systems exhibits a variety of exotic
phases with long-range quantum correlations, such as spin liquids and
supersolids. Despite the rapid increase in computational power of modern
computers, the numerical simulation of these complex systems becomes
intractable even for a few dozens of particles. Feynman's idea of quantum
simulators offers an innovative way to bypass this computational barrier.
However, the proposed realizations of such devices either require very low
temperatures (ultracold gases in optical lattices, trapped ions,
superconducting devices) and considerable technological effort, or are
extremely hard to scale in practice (NMR, linear optics). In this work, we
propose a new architecture for a scalable quantum simulator that can operate at
room temperature. It consists of strongly-interacting nuclear spins attached to
the diamond surface by its direct chemical treatment, or by means of a
functionalized graphene sheet. The initialization, control and read-out of this
quantum simulator can be accomplished with nitrogen-vacancy centers implanted
in diamond. The system can be engineered to simulate a wide variety of
interesting strongly-correlated models with long-range dipole-dipole
interactions. Due to the superior coherence time of nuclear spins and
nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond, our proposal offers new opportunities
towards large-scale quantum simulation at room temperatures
Strain-engineered graphene grown on hexagonal boron nitride by molecular beam epitaxy
Graphene grown by high temperature molecular beam epitaxy on hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) forms continuous domains with dimensions of order 20 μm, and exhibits moiré patterns with large periodicities, up to ~30 nm, indicating that the layers are highly strained. Topological defects in the moiré patterns are observed and attributed to the relaxation of graphene islands which nucleate at different sites and subsequently coalesce. In addition, cracks are formed leading to strain relaxation, highly anisotropic strain fields, and abrupt boundaries between regions with different moiré periods. These cracks can also be formed by modification of the layers with a local probe resulting in the contraction and physical displacement of graphene layers. The Raman spectra of regions with a large moiré period reveal split and shifted G and 2D peaks confirming the presence of strain. Our work demonstrates a new approach to the growth of epitaxial graphene and a means of generating and modifying strain in graphene
Hexagonal boron nitride tunnel barriers grown on graphite by high temperature molecular beam epitaxy
We demonstrate direct epitaxial growth of high-quality hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) layers on graphite using high-temperature plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. Atomic force microscopy reveals mono- and few-layer island growth, while conducting atomic force microscopy shows that the grown hBN has a resistance which increases exponentially with the number of layers, and has electrical properties comparable to exfoliated hBN. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman microscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements on hBN confirm the formation of sp2-bonded hBN and a band gap of 5.9 ± 0.1 eV with no chemical intermixing with graphite. We also observe hexagonal moiré patterns with a period of 15 nm, consistent with the alignment of the hBN lattice and the graphite substrate
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