Strain-engineered diffusive atomic switching in two-dimensional crystals
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Strain-engineered.pdf
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Author(s)
Kalikka, Janne
Zhou, Xilin
Dilcher, Eric
Wall, Simon
Li, Ju
Simpson, Robert E.
Date Issued
June 2016
Journal
Nature Communications
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
Citation
Kalikka, Janne et al. “Strain-Engineered Diffusive Atomic Switching in Two-Dimensional Crystals.” Nature Communications 7 (2016): 11983. © 2016 Macmillan Publishers Limited
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Strain engineering is an emerging route for tuning the bandgap, carrier mobility, chemical reactivity and diffusivity of materials. Here we show how strain can be used to control atomic diffusion in van der Waals heterostructures of two-dimensional (2D) crystals. We use strain to increase the diffusivity of Ge and Te atoms that are confined to 5 Å thick 2D planes within an Sb[subscript 2]Te[subscript 3]–GeTe van der Waals superlattice. The number of quintuple Sb[subscript 2]Te[subscript 3] 2D crystal layers dictates the strain in the GeTe layers and consequently its diffusive atomic disordering. By identifying four critical rules for the superlattice configuration we lay the foundation for a generalizable approach to the design of switchable van der Waals heterostructures. As Sb[subscript 2]Te[subscript 3]–GeTe is a topological insulator, we envision these rules enabling methods to control spin and topological properties of materials in reversible and energy efficient ways.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering
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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms11983
