Graphene has captured the attention of scientists since its discovery over a decade ago. This single-layer carbon material is known for its remarkable electronic properties, incredible strength, and ultra-lightweight nature. Its potential applications continue to expand, but one major challenge remains: how to introduce an energy gap (a band gap between the valence and conduction bands) that allows it to function as a semiconductor or insulator—essential for building transistors and other electronic components.
Now, researchers at MIT have made a significant breakthrough in this area, potentially reshaping some long-standing theories about graphene. They combined graphene with another single-atom-thick material—hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), which shares similar structural properties. By placing a layer of graphene on top of hBN, they created a hybrid material that retains graphene’s conductivity while introducing the necessary energy gap for transistor applications.
Pablo Jarillo-Herrero, an assistant professor at MIT's Department of Physics, explained: "By combining two materials, we achieved a new set of properties that neither material had on its own. Graphene is an excellent conductor, and hBN is a good insulator. When placed together, we end up with a high-quality semiconductor."
However, the process isn’t as straightforward as simply stacking two materials. The atomic structures of both must be almost perfectly aligned. Both are hexagonal in shape, and their lattice constants are nearly identical—but hBN is about 1.8% larger. This slight mismatch means perfect alignment is extremely difficult to achieve, leading to small-scale imperfections.
Currently, there’s no perfect solution to this problem. Researchers can only achieve angular alignment, which comes with an error rate of approximately 1 in 15. Despite this, the resulting material shows great promise.
Ray Ashoori, a physics professor at MIT, noted: "What’s most fascinating about this new semiconductor is that by adjusting the angle between the layers, we can fine-tune its electronic properties. This opens the door to creating a wide range of materials with different functionalities."
Previously, scientists tried making graphene into narrow ribbons to create a band gap, but this approach significantly reduced its electrical performance. The new method avoids such issues, though the current energy gap is still not large enough for practical use. Researchers believe further improvements could lead to a revolutionary material for next-generation transistors.
Additionally, the MIT team observed a surprising physical phenomenon in the new material: when exposed to a magnetic field, it exhibited a fractal-like pattern known as the "Hofstadter Butterfly Spectrum." This was once considered theoretical and thought to be unattainable in real-world materials. Now, it’s been experimentally confirmed, opening new avenues for research in quantum physics and condensed matter science.
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