Symmetry breaking in boron nitride nanotubes.
We have imaged boron nitride nanotubes with atomic scale resolution using scanning tunneling microscopy. While some nanotubes show the expected triangular lattice pattern, the majority of the nanotubes show unusual stripe patterns which break the underlying symmetry of the boron nitride lattice. We identify the origin of the symmetry breaking and demonstrate that conventional STM imaging analysis is inadequate for boron nitride nanotubes.
Ishigami
Masa
M
Department of Physics, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
Sau
Jay Deep
JD
Aloni
Shaul
S
Cohen
Marvin L
ML
Zettl
A
A