Disordered graphene and boron nitride in a microwave tight-binding analog

TL;DR

This study uses microwave analogs of graphene and boron nitride to explore how disorder affects electronic properties, demonstrating the emergence of band gaps and Dirac point modifications in a controllable experimental setup.

Contribution

It introduces a microwave tight-binding analog system to simulate disordered graphene and boron nitride, enabling detailed investigation of disorder effects on electronic band structures.

Findings

Disorder impacts Dirac points in graphene analogs.

Boron nitride analogs exhibit a band gap.

Microwave techniques effectively model tight-binding systems.

Abstract

Experiments on hexagonal graphene-like structures using microwave measuring techniques are presented. The lowest transverse-electric resonance of coupled dielectric disks sandwiched between two metallic plates establishes a tight-binding configuration. The nearest-neighbor coupling approximation is investigated in systems with few disks. Taking advantage of the high flexibility of the disks positions, consequences of the disorder introduced in the graphene lattice on the Dirac points are investigated. Using two different types of disks, a boron-nitride-like structure (a hexagonal lattice with a two-atom basis) is implemented, showing the appearance of a band gap.