Gap modification of atomically thin boron nitride by phonon mediated interactions

TL;DR

This paper presents a theoretical model showing how phonon-mediated interactions can significantly modify the bandgap of atomically thin boron nitride, suggesting a phononic contribution to its electronic properties.

Contribution

It introduces a new theoretical framework for understanding how phonon interactions can enhance the bandgap in atomically thin BN.

Findings

Gap enhancements up to 70% at bb=1

Proposes a phonon-mediated mechanism for bandgap modification

Suggests a phononic origin for part of BN's measured bandgap

Abstract

A theory is presented for the modification of bandgaps in atomically thin boron nitride (BN) by attractive interactions mediated through phonons in a polarizable substrate, or in the BN plane. Gap equations are solved, and gap enhancements are found to range up to 70% for dimensionless electron-phonon coupling \lambda=1, indicating that a proportion of the measured BN bandgap may have a phonon origin.