Soliton superlattices in twisted hexagonal boron nitride
10.1038/s41467-019-12327-x
Crossref journal-article
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Nature Communications (297)
Abstract

AbstractProperties of atomic van der Waals heterostructures are profoundly influenced by interlayer coupling, which critically depends on stacking of the proximal layers. Rotational misalignment or lattice mismatch of the layers gives rise to a periodic modulation of the stacking, the moiré superlattice. Provided the superlattice period extends over many unit cells, the coupled layers undergo lattice relaxation, leading to the concentration of strain at line defects – solitons - separating large area commensurate domains. We visualize such long-range periodic superstructures in thin crystals of hexagonal boron nitride using atomic-force microscopy and nano-infrared spectroscopy. The solitons form sub-surface hexagonal networks with periods of a few hundred nanometers. We analyze the topography and infrared contrast of these networks to obtain spatial distribution of local strain and its effect on the infrared-active phonons of hBN.

Bibliography

Ni, G. X., Wang, H., Jiang, B.-Y., Chen, L. X., Du, Y., Sun, Z. Y., Goldflam, M. D., Frenzel, A. J., Xie, X. M., Fogler, M. M., & Basov, D. N. (2019). Soliton superlattices in twisted hexagonal boron nitride. Nature Communications, 10(1).

Authors 11
  1. G. X. Ni (first)
  2. H. Wang (additional)
  3. B.-Y. Jiang (additional)
  4. L. X. Chen (additional)
  5. Y. Du (additional)
  6. Z. Y. Sun (additional)
  7. M. D. Goldflam (additional)
  8. A. J. Frenzel (additional)
  9. X. M. Xie (additional)
  10. M. M. Fogler (additional)
  11. D. N. Basov (additional)
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Dates
Type When
Created 5 years, 10 months ago (Sept. 25, 2019, 6:03 a.m.)
Deposited 2 years, 8 months ago (Dec. 16, 2022, 8:27 p.m.)
Indexed 2 days, 2 hours ago (Aug. 23, 2025, 1:19 a.m.)
Issued 5 years, 11 months ago (Sept. 25, 2019)
Published 5 years, 11 months ago (Sept. 25, 2019)
Published Online 5 years, 11 months ago (Sept. 25, 2019)
Funders 0

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@article{Ni_2019, title={Soliton superlattices in twisted hexagonal boron nitride}, volume={10}, ISSN={2041-1723}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-12327-x}, DOI={10.1038/s41467-019-12327-x}, number={1}, journal={Nature Communications}, publisher={Springer Science and Business Media LLC}, author={Ni, G. X. and Wang, H. and Jiang, B.-Y. and Chen, L. X. and Du, Y. and Sun, Z. Y. and Goldflam, M. D. and Frenzel, A. J. and Xie, X. M. and Fogler, M. M. and Basov, D. N.}, year={2019}, month=sep }