Nano-imaging of local strain in hexagonal boron nitride

Strain plays an important role in condensed matter physics. Strain effect becomes more interesting in two-dimensional materials, both because an unusually large strain can be achieved without breaking the material, and because the strain can lead to novel behavior such as the generation of pseudomagnetic field in graphene. Here, we report an ultra-sensitive nanometer scale mapping and a quantitative analysis of local strain field in atomically thin hexagonal boron nitride.