Current-in-plane tunneling measurement of oxygen-functionalized few-layer boron nitride lateral barriers

Engineering the electronic properties of two-dimensional (2D) heterostructures for the practical switching of nanodevices has led to an unprecedented class of functionalized dielectric materials that can be used as laterally stitched layers. It remains a significant challenge for 2D stacking layers to control ballistic and tunneling currents in short channels. In terms of 2D nanostructures, hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) is the most promising insulator. A surface tunneling current measurement was used in this study to study the electronic performance of hBN and surface-functionalized hBN in a variety of configurations and conditions. Tunneling diodes and topological Josephson junctions are possible heterojunctions using hBN as lateral barriers. By oxygen plasma treatment, we also characterized the transport properties of surface-functionalized hBN, confirming that the bandgap and work function of a few layers of hBN are consistent. The dielectric nature and electronic properties of hBN and oxygen-functionalized hBN are investigated using ab initio calculations using DFT-PBE, taking into account DFT-D3 corrections for interlayer distances. As a stacking layer for semiconducting channel materials, hBN and functionalized hBN can supply tunneling currents and temperature-dependent opto/nanodevice performance. A surface tunneling current measurement was used to study the electronic performance of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) and surface-functionalized hBN in a variety of configurations and conditions.