Substitutional mechanism for growth of hexagonal boron nitride on epitaxial graphene

Abstract

Monolayer-thick hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is grown on graphene on SiC(0001), by exposure of the graphene to borazine, (BH)3(NH)3, at 1100 °C. The h-BN films form ∼2-μm size grains with a preferred orientation of 30° relative to the surface graphene. Low-energy electron microscopy is employed to provide definitive signatures of the number and composition of two-dimensional planes across the surface. These grains are found to form by substitution for the surface graphene, with the C atoms produced by this substitution, then being incorporated below the h-BN (at the interface between the existing graphene and the SiC) to form a new graphene plane.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Jul 16, 2018
Source ID
10.1063/1.5039823

Entities

People

  • Jun Li
  • Patrick C. Mende
  • Randall M. Feenstra

Organizations

  • Carnegie Mellon University
  • Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
  • National Science Foundation

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Nanocomposite Materials Science
  • Thin Film Deposition Science.

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics
  • Microelectronics - Graphene