"Electron-induced Atom Ejection: Unveiling the Power of 2D Materials"

Physicists have discovered that a beam of electrons can remove single atoms from a two-dimensional sheet of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) in a controlled manner, contrary to previous predictions. The researchers also found that a higher-energy version of the technique could selectively remove nitrogen atoms from the hBN lattice, which is unexpected as nitrogen is heavier than boron. The vacancies left behind by the missing nitrogen atoms could have applications in quantum computing, communication networks, and sensors. The researchers used aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to isolate the vacancies and found that operating the TEM in near ultrahigh vacuum conditions reduced lattice damage. This discovery opens up possibilities for manipulating other materials at the atomic level using electron beams.