Scientists Create Atomically Thin Metallic Boron
January 25, 2016 | Argonne National LaboratoryEstimated reading time: 4 minutes
One of boron’s most unusual features consists of its atomic configuration at the nanoscale. While other two-dimensional materials look more or less like perfectly smooth and even planes at the nanoscale, borophene looks like corrugated cardboard, buckling up and down depending on how the boron atoms bind to one another, according to Mannix.
The “ridges” of this cardboard-like structure result in a material phenomenon known as anisotropy, in which a material’s mechanical or electronic properties – like its electrical conductivity – become directionally dependent. “This extreme anisotropy is rare in two-dimensional materials and has not been seen before in a two-dimensional metal,” Mannix said.
Based on theoretical predictions of borophene’s characteristics, the researchers also noticed that it likely has a higher tensile strength than any other known two-dimensional material. Tensile strength refers to the ability of a material to resist breaking when it is pulled apart. “Other two-dimensional materials have been known to have high tensile strength, but this could be the strongest material we’ve found yet,” Guisinger said.
The discovery and synthesis of borophene was aided by computer simulation work led by Stony Brook researchers Xiang-Feng Zhou and Artem Oganov, who is currently affiliated with the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology. Oganov and Zhou used advanced simulation methods that showed the formation of the crinkles of the corrugated surface.
“Sometimes experimentalists find a material and they ask us to solve the structure, and sometimes we do predictions first and the experiment validates what we find,” Oganov said. “The two go hand-in-hand, and in this international collaboration we had a bit of both.”
“The connection we have between the institutions allows us to achieve things that we couldn’t do alone,” Hersam added. “We needed to combine scanning tunneling microscopy with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy to both obtain a view of the surface of the material and verify its atomic-scale thickness and chemical properties.”
Page 2 of 3
Suggested Items
Material Insight: The Dielectric Constant of PCB Materials
05/17/2024 | Dr. Preeya Kuray -- Column: Material InsightIn the world of PCB design, miniaturization can be achieved by using low dielectric constant (Dk) materials. Low Dk materials can allow for a reduction in thickness while maintaining a given trace width, leading to lower transmission loss and higher density circuitry.
IPC APEX EXPO: Some Thoughts About Growth
05/16/2024 | Dan Feinberg, I-Connect007After two and a half days of wandering the aisles at IPC APEX EXPO 2024, for the first time, I almost felt like I was exploring CES. There were so many booths and exhibits that I could describe, but I’d like to focus on the growth and huge value of this event, which has expanded well beyond just the growing and impressive exhibit show floor.
The Shaughnessy Report: Unlock Your High-speed Material Constraints
05/15/2024 | Andy Shaughnessy -- Column: The Shaughnessy ReportThe world of PCB materials used to be a fairly simple one. It was divided into two groups: the “traditional” laminates, often called FR-4, and the high-speed laminates developed especially for high-speed PCBs. These were two worlds that usually didn’t collide. But then traditional laminates started getting better, and high-speed designers and design engineers took notice and started to reconsider what FR-4 could be used for.
Breaking High-speed Material Constraints: Design007 Magazine — May 2024
05/14/2024 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamDo you need specialty materials for your high-speed designs? Maybe not. Improvements in resins mean designers of high-speed boards can sometimes use traditional laminate systems instead of high-speed materials, saving time and money while streamlining the fab process. In the May 2024 issue of Design007 Magazine, our contributors explain how to avoid overconstraining your materials when working with high-speed boards.
Indium Experts to Present at Electronics in Harsh Environments SMTA Conference
05/13/2024 | Indium Corporationndium Corporation Technical Manager for Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, Karthik Vijay, will deliver a technical presentation and Indium Corporation Senior Technologist, Dr. Ronald Lasky, will deliver both a workshop and technical presentation at the Electronics in Harsh Environments SMTA Conference on May 14-16 in Copenhagen, Denmark.