Semiconductor-metal transition in multi-layer sandwiched BAs/BP heterostructures induced by BP intercalation

Significant endeavors have been made to predict the van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures consisted of boron arsenide (BAs) and boron phosphide (BP) sheets, which are indispensable for next-generation nanoelectronic devices. Theoretical results show that the BP intercalation in the BAs/BP sandwiched heterostructures induce a peculiar semiconductor-metal transition, and further results in a dramatic increase in the electronic current, very different from the pure BAs and BP sheets. More strikingly, when a small BP nanotube is inserted into a larger BAs nanotube, because of the rotation between the inner and outer tubes, also leading to the similar semiconductor-metal transition. The semiconductor-metal transition in the sandwiched heterostructures composed of BAs and BP sheets gives a theoretical support for the fundamental science and device technologies and provides a possible approach to design conducting heterostructures by different monolayer semiconductors.