Hexagonal boron nitride, also known as "white graphite," is a unique solid with many excellent properties. Its high thermal conductivity, low dielectric constant and chemical inertness make it an ideal substrate for graphene in nanoelectronic devices. It is also a strong and stable lubricant with a high load-carrying capacity for use as an automotive lubricant.

Hexagonally layered h-BN has been investigated as an efficient, inexpensive and thermally stable engineering ceramic for over seven decades. In recent years, h-BN has been employed for a range of applications in deep UV optoelectronic devices and sensors.

h-BN has a wide band gap of 5.9 eV and can be used as a thermal interface material, transparent membrane and a variety of applications in deep UV optoelectronics. It is a versatile material that has been used for more than a decade as the optimal substrate for graphene in nanoelectronics and optoelectronic devices.

The AA'A/ABA twin boundary of h-BN exhibits a unique property that opens new possibilities for h-BN nanoelectronic devices, similar to the 558 line defect found at a stacking boundary in bilayer graphene (6) and 1D twin boundaries in molybdenum diselenide (7). Using AIMD simulations, we demonstrate that the 558 line defect at a twin boundary in h-BN easily transforms into 6'6' configuration upon the addition of two electrons in the h-BN nanoribbon, revealing an atomically thin electronic channel with a wide bandgap of 5 eV.

Xe FIB was applied to the surface of thin flake h-BN to irradiate the material, creating showers of backscattered electrons and sputtered ions that locally damage the crystalline structure of the flake and create optically active defects. In our experiments, the spectral characteristics of these created defects qualitatively matched previously reported FIB-patterned Xe defect samples, with a broad emission peak around 830 nm.