Atomic identification of bright atoms adjacent to boron vacancies

Identify unambiguously the atomic species of the high-intensity atoms adjacent to boron single vacancies in irradiated monolayer hexagonal boron nitride, thereby determining whether they are oxygen substitutions or other impurity atoms.

Background

The authors observe nitrogen-site intensities adjacent to boron single vacancies that are comparable to or higher than those in pristine hBN. Simulations suggest that oxygen substitutions at these sites could account for the unexpectedly high contrast, but the experimental analysis was optimized for detecting vacancies rather than distinguishing subtle differences in atomic number.

Consequently, the identity of these atoms—and therefore the extent to which oxygen incorporation contributes to ion-induced defect formation—remains unresolved and is deferred to future work.