Stanene-hexagonal boron nitride heterobilayer: Structure and characterization of electronic property

The structural and electronic properties of stanene/hexagonal boron nitride (Sn/h-BN) heterobilayer with different stacking patterns are studied using first principle calculations within the framework of density functional theory. The electronic band structure of different stacking patterns shows a direct band gap of ~30 meV at Dirac point and at the Fermi energy level with a Fermi velocity of ~0.53 × 10⁶ ms^-1. Linear Dirac dispersion relation is nearly preserved and the calculated small effective mass in the order of 0.05m_o suggests high carrier mobility. Density of states and space charge distribution of the considered heterobilayer structure near the conduction and the valence bands show unsaturated π orbitals of stanene. This indicates that electronic carriers are expected to transport only through the stanene layer, thereby leaving the h-BN layer to be a good choice as a substrate for the heterostructure. We have also explored the modulation of the obtained band gap by changing the interlayer spacing between h-BN and Sn layer and by applying tensile biaxial strain to the heterostructure. A small increase in the band gap is observed with the increasing percentage of strain. Our results suggest that, Sn/h-BN heterostructure can be a potential candidate for Sn-based nanoelectronics and spintronic applications.