title: Electron tunneling through ultrathin boron nitride crystalline barriers.
abstract: We investigate the electronic properties of ultrathin hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) crystalline layers with different conducting materials (graphite, graphene, and gold) on either side of the barrier layer. The tunnel current depends exponentially on the number of h-BN atomic layers, down to a monolayer thickness. Conductive atomic force microscopy scans across h-BN terraces of different thickness reveal a high level of uniformity in the tunnel current. Our results demonstrate that atomically thin h-BN acts as a defect-free dielectric with a high breakdown field. It offers great potential for applications in tunnel devices and in field-effect transistors with a high carrier density in the conducting channel.
authors.affiliation: School of Physics & Astronomy, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Liam
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Britnell
authors.forename: Roman V
authors.initials: RV
authors.lastname: Gorbachev
authors.forename: Rashid
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jalil
authors.forename: Branson D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Belle
authors.forename: Fred
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Schedin
authors.forename: Mikhail I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Katsnelson
authors.forename: Laurence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Eaves
authors.forename: Sergey V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Morozov
authors.forename: Alexander S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Mayorov
authors.forename: Nuno M R
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Peres
authors.forename: Antonio H Castro
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Neto
authors.forename: Jon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Leist
authors.forename: Andre K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Geim
authors.forename: Leonid A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Ponomarenko
authors.forename: Kostya S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Novoselov
mesh_terms: D001896:Boron Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D004579:Electron Transport; D008422:Materials Testing; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D010316:Particle Size; D012666:Semiconductors
chemical_list: D001896:Boron Compounds; C017282:boron nitride