Tunable electronics in large-area atomic layers of boron-nitrogen-carbon

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Condensed Matter Physics
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Graphene exhibits metallic behavior, limiting its application in certain semiconductor devices.
• Doping graphene with elements like boron and nitrogen can alter its electronic properties.
• Understanding the fundamental transport mechanisms in doped graphene is crucial for device development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the low-temperature electrical transport properties of large-area boron and nitrogen codoped graphene (BNC) layers.
• To determine the influence of boron and nitrogen content on the electronic behavior of graphene.
• To explore the conduction mechanisms in BNC layers across different temperature regimes.

Main Methods:

• Experimental measurement of resistivity and conductivity in BNC layers from 5 K to 400 K.
• Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations to model BNC structures and electronic properties.
• Analysis of temperature-dependent conductivity to identify conduction mechanisms.

Main Results:

• BNC layers exhibit semiconducting behavior with a tunable band gap that increases with boron and nitrogen content.
• Boron concentration was found to be the dominant factor in establishing the semiconducting nature of BNC.
• Two distinct conduction regimes were observed: Arrhenius-like behavior at higher temperatures and Mott's 2D variable range hopping at lower temperatures.

Conclusions:

• The electronic properties of BNC layers can be effectively tuned by controlling boron and nitrogen concentrations.
• The observed semiconducting behavior and tunable band gap in BNC are consistent with DFT predictions.
• BNC materials offer promising prospects for applications in tunable solid-state electronics.