Fermi surfaces of single layer dielectrics on transition metals

TL;DR

This paper reviews the electronic properties of single-layer dielectric materials, specifically hexagonal boron nitride on transition metals, highlighting Fermi surface characteristics and the effects of nanomesh-induced electric fields.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of Fermi surface maps for h-BN on Rh(111) and discusses how the nanomesh structure influences electronic momentum conservation.

Findings

h-BN on Rh(111) does not introduce new Fermi energy bands

Lateral electric fields in the nanomesh affect photoemission momentum distribution

Fermi surface maps show no new electronic states at the Fermi level

Abstract

Single sheets of hexagonal boron nitride on transition metals provide a model system for single layer dielectrics. The progress in the understanding of h-BN layers on transition metals of the last 10 years are shortly reviewed. Particular emphasis lies on the boron nitride nanomesh on Rh(111), which is a corrugated single sheet of h-BN, where the corrugation imposes strong lateral electric fields. Fermi surface maps of h-BN/Rh(111) and Rh(111) are compared. A h-BN layer on Rh(111) introduces no new bands at the Fermi energy, which is expected for an insulator. The lateral electric fields of h-BN nanomesh violate the conservation law for parallel momentum in photoemission and smear out the momentum distribution curves on the Fermi surface.