Quantum-phase two-dimensional materials

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel method for engineering two-dimensional materials by leveraging the quantum phase acquired by electrons due to the image potential from nearby structures, enabling active control of their properties.

Contribution

It presents a new approach to material modification using quantum phases induced by noncontact neighboring structures, expanding the toolkit for 2D material engineering.

Findings

Electrons in monolayers acquire a quantum phase from image potentials.

This phase leads to modifications in optical, electrical, and thermal properties.

Emergence of interband absorption, plasmon hybridization, and metal-insulator transitions.

Abstract

The modification of electronic band structures and the subsequent tuning of electrical, optical, and thermal material properties is a central theme in the engineering and fundamental understanding of solid-state systems. In this scenario, atomically thin materials offer an appealing platform because they are extremely susceptible to electric and magnetic gating, as well as to interlayer hybridization in stacked configurations, providing the means to customize and actively modulate their response functions. Here, we introduce a radically different approach to material engineering relying on the self-interaction that electrons in a two-dimensional material experience when an electrically neutral structure is placed in its vicinity. Employing rigorous theoretical methods, we show that electrons in a semiconductor atomic monolayer acquire a quantum phase resulting from the image potential induced by the presence of a neighboring periodic array of conducting ribbons, which in turn produces strong modifications in the optical, electrical, and thermal properties of the monolayer, specifically giving rise to the emergence of interband optical absorption, plasmon hybridization, and metal-insulator transitions. Beyond its fundamental interest, material engineering based on the quantum phase induced by noncontact neighboring structures represents a disruptive approach to tailor the properties of atomic layers for application in nanodevices.