Authors:

Priya Mishra

Date Created:

Not specified

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About Paper:

Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) has emerged as a promising host for spin defects in two-dimensional materials due to its wide bandgap, chemical stability, and potential for room-temperature quantum applications. However, there is still a lack of direct experimental investigation of individual defects' atomic structure and their quantum behavior. We propose to address this challenge by developing a novel method to create isolated atomic vacancies in hBN under ultra-high vacuum and study them using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). This presentation will focus on demonstrating the fabrication of STM- compatible hBN/graphite devices to achieve the above goal. To create these devices, we exfoliated hBN of varying thicknesses, validated with atomic force microscopy (AFM), and used dry-transfer methods to create heterostructures specifically designed for STM measurements. We also utilized vacuum annealing to make the surface of our substrate atomically clean of surface adsorbates and polymer residue. Finally, we plan to introduce controlled defect formation under ultra-high vacuum and study them with STM. Successful fabrication of these samples will provide hBN devices suitable for STM measurements, enabling direct correlation between atomic-scale defect structure and their quantum properties, providing experimental validation of theoretical predictions. Keywords: 2D Materials; STM; Quantum Physics; Atomic Defect; Quantum Sensing

Source:

Purdue University / 2025

Topics:

No topics listed

Co-authors:

Priya Mishra