Exciton Self-Trapping in Twisted Hexagonal Boron Nitride homostructures

One of the main interests of 2D materials is their ability to be assembled with many degrees of freedom for tuning and manipulating excitonic properties. There is a need to understand how the structure of the interfaces between atomic layers influences exciton properties. Here we use cathodoluminesc...

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Main Authors: Sébastien Roux, Christophe Arnold, Etienne Carré, Alexandre Plaud, Lei Ren, Frédéric Fossard, Nicolas Horezan, Eli Janzen, James H. Edgar, Camille Maestre, Bérangère Toury, Catherine Journet, Vincent Garnier, Philippe Steyer, Takashi Taniguchi, Kenji Watanabe, Cédric Robert, Xavier Marie, François Ducastelle, Annick Loiseau, Julien Barjon
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: American Physical Society 2025-05-01
Series:Physical Review X
Online Access:http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.15.021067
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author Sébastien Roux
Christophe Arnold
Etienne Carré
Alexandre Plaud
Lei Ren
Frédéric Fossard
Nicolas Horezan
Eli Janzen
James H. Edgar
Camille Maestre
Bérangère Toury
Catherine Journet
Vincent Garnier
Philippe Steyer
Takashi Taniguchi
Kenji Watanabe
Cédric Robert
Xavier Marie
François Ducastelle
Annick Loiseau
Julien Barjon
author_facet Sébastien Roux
Christophe Arnold
Etienne Carré
Alexandre Plaud
Lei Ren
Frédéric Fossard
Nicolas Horezan
Eli Janzen
James H. Edgar
Camille Maestre
Bérangère Toury
Catherine Journet
Vincent Garnier
Philippe Steyer
Takashi Taniguchi
Kenji Watanabe
Cédric Robert
Xavier Marie
François Ducastelle
Annick Loiseau
Julien Barjon
author_sort Sébastien Roux
collection DOAJ
description One of the main interests of 2D materials is their ability to be assembled with many degrees of freedom for tuning and manipulating excitonic properties. There is a need to understand how the structure of the interfaces between atomic layers influences exciton properties. Here we use cathodoluminescence and time-resolved cathodoluminescence experiments to study how excitons interact with the interface between two twisted hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) crystals with various angles. An efficient capture of free excitons by the interface is demonstrated, which leads to a population of long-lived and interface-localized (2D) excitons. Temperature-dependent experiments indicate that for high twist angles, these excitons localized at the interface further undergo a self-trapping. It consists in a distortion of the lattice around the exciton on which the exciton traps itself. Our results suggest that this exciton-interface interaction causes the broad 4-eV optical emission of highly twisted h-BN–h-BN structures. Exciton self-trapping is finally discussed as a common feature of sp^{2} hybridized boron nitride polytypes and nanostructures due to the ionic nature of the B—N bond and the small size of their excitons.
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spelling doaj-art-cf15745e163b484ebc2747965cfd0ae52025-08-20T02:30:14ZengAmerican Physical SocietyPhysical Review X2160-33082025-05-0115202106710.1103/PhysRevX.15.021067Exciton Self-Trapping in Twisted Hexagonal Boron Nitride homostructuresSébastien RouxChristophe ArnoldEtienne CarréAlexandre PlaudLei RenFrédéric FossardNicolas HorezanEli JanzenJames H. EdgarCamille MaestreBérangère TouryCatherine JournetVincent GarnierPhilippe SteyerTakashi TaniguchiKenji WatanabeCédric RobertXavier MarieFrançois DucastelleAnnick LoiseauJulien BarjonOne of the main interests of 2D materials is their ability to be assembled with many degrees of freedom for tuning and manipulating excitonic properties. There is a need to understand how the structure of the interfaces between atomic layers influences exciton properties. Here we use cathodoluminescence and time-resolved cathodoluminescence experiments to study how excitons interact with the interface between two twisted hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) crystals with various angles. An efficient capture of free excitons by the interface is demonstrated, which leads to a population of long-lived and interface-localized (2D) excitons. Temperature-dependent experiments indicate that for high twist angles, these excitons localized at the interface further undergo a self-trapping. It consists in a distortion of the lattice around the exciton on which the exciton traps itself. Our results suggest that this exciton-interface interaction causes the broad 4-eV optical emission of highly twisted h-BN–h-BN structures. Exciton self-trapping is finally discussed as a common feature of sp^{2} hybridized boron nitride polytypes and nanostructures due to the ionic nature of the B—N bond and the small size of their excitons.http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.15.021067
spellingShingle Sébastien Roux
Christophe Arnold
Etienne Carré
Alexandre Plaud
Lei Ren
Frédéric Fossard
Nicolas Horezan
Eli Janzen
James H. Edgar
Camille Maestre
Bérangère Toury
Catherine Journet
Vincent Garnier
Philippe Steyer
Takashi Taniguchi
Kenji Watanabe
Cédric Robert
Xavier Marie
François Ducastelle
Annick Loiseau
Julien Barjon
Exciton Self-Trapping in Twisted Hexagonal Boron Nitride homostructures
Physical Review X
title Exciton Self-Trapping in Twisted Hexagonal Boron Nitride homostructures
title_full Exciton Self-Trapping in Twisted Hexagonal Boron Nitride homostructures
title_fullStr Exciton Self-Trapping in Twisted Hexagonal Boron Nitride homostructures
title_full_unstemmed Exciton Self-Trapping in Twisted Hexagonal Boron Nitride homostructures
title_short Exciton Self-Trapping in Twisted Hexagonal Boron Nitride homostructures
title_sort exciton self trapping in twisted hexagonal boron nitride homostructures
url http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.15.021067
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