Chen M, Zhong Y, Harris E, Li J, Zheng Z, Chen H, Wu J-S, Jarillo-Herrero P, Ma Q, Edgar J H, Lin X, Dai S
Materials Research and Education Center, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, 36849, USA.
Interdisciplinary Center for Quantum Information, State Key Laboratory of Modern Optical Instrumentation, ZJU-Hangzhou Global Science and Technology Innovation Center, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China.
Nat Commun. 2023 Aug 8;14(1):4782. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-40449-w.
Element isotopes are characterized by distinct atomic masses and nuclear spins, which can significantly influence material properties. Notably, however, isotopes in natural materials are homogenously distributed in space. Here, we propose a method to configure material properties by repositioning isotopes in engineered van der Waals (vdW) isotopic heterostructures. We showcase the properties of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) isotopic heterostructures in engineering confined photon-lattice waves-hyperbolic phonon polaritons. By varying the composition, stacking order, and thicknesses of hBN and hBN building blocks, hyperbolic phonon polaritons can be engineered into a variety of energy-momentum dispersions. These confined and tailored polaritons are promising for various nanophotonic and thermal functionalities. Due to the universality and importance of isotopes, our vdW isotope heterostructuring method can be applied to engineer the properties of a broad range of materials.
元素同位素具有独特的原子质量和核自旋，这会显著影响材料特性。然而，值得注意的是，天然材料中的同位素在空间中是均匀分布的。在此，我们提出一种通过在工程化范德华（vdW）同位素异质结构中重新定位同位素来配置材料特性的方法。我们展示了六方氮化硼（hBN）同位素异质结构在工程受限光子晶格波——双曲声子极化激元方面的特性。通过改变hBN和hBN结构单元的组成、堆叠顺序和厚度，可以将双曲声子极化激元设计成各种能量-动量色散。这些受限且定制的极化激元在各种纳米光子和热功能方面具有广阔前景。由于同位素的普遍性和重要性，我们的vdW同位素异质结构方法可应用于设计多种材料的特性。
