Ferroelectricity in two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) layers has revolutionized our understanding of the vdW layered coupling, and has been introduced in the domains of moiré superlattice patterns generated by interlayer twisting or sliding. In the smallest limit of thickness, untwisted and epitaxial vdW stacking layers exhibiting ferroelectricity would clearly serve as building blocks for realizing 2D devices with nonvolatile and reconfigurable functionalities. In this study, we grew ferroelectric hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) films on single-crystal graphene synthesized on a SiC (0001) substrate using nitrogen plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PA-MBE). Systematic angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) studies and first-principles calculations revealed that the epitaxial mono-, bi-, and tri-layer h-BN films exhibit layer-number-dependent µ-band dispersions due to an AB stacking sequence on a Bernal-stacked graphene substrate. Furthermore, our piezoelectric force microscopy (PFM) confirmed the coexistence of robust moiré and sliding ferroelectricity at the well-aligned h-BN/graphene heterojunction and in multilayered h-BN films, respectively. In principle, as-developed epitaxially ferroelectric h-BN is limited only by the size of the crystalline graphene substrate, thereby providing a versatile and scalable 2D ferroelectric platform with promising exotic physics and vdW device applications down to a few atomic layers.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.