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Gas source chemical vapor deposition of hexagonal boron nitride on C-plane sapphire using B2H6 and NH3

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  • Focus Issue: Ultra-wide Bandgap Materials, Devices, and Systems
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Abstract

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) using diborane (B2H6) and ammonia (NH3) is reported. The effect of growth conditions on hBN growth rate using continuous vs. flow modulation epitaxy (FME) method is investigated to gain insight into the role of gas-phase chemistry during film deposition. In continuous mode, hBN growth rate decreases with increase in growth temperature, reactor pressure, and decrease in gas velocity. This is attributed to increased gas-phase polymerization of intermediate products such as borazine (B3N3H6) which forms high molecular weight species that do not contribute to hBN film growth. Using FME method, the hBN growth rate increases by ~ 25 times compared to continuous mode and exhibits a strong positive dependence on substrate temperature with an activation energy of ~ 61.1 kcal/mol, indicative of a kinetically limited process. The results provide additional insight into the effects of gas-phase reactions on CVD of hBN.

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The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgments

Financial support for this work was provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF) through the 2D Crystal Consortium–Materials Innovation Platform (2DCC-MIP) under NSF cooperative agreement DMR-1539916 and DMR-1808900.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Anushka Bansal, Xiaotian Zhang & Joan M. Redwing

  2. 2-Dimensional Crystal Consortium (2DCC) Materials Research Institute, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Joan M. Redwing

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  1. Anushka Bansal
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  2. Xiaotian Zhang
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Correspondence to Joan M. Redwing.

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Bansal, A., Zhang, X. & Redwing, J.M. Gas source chemical vapor deposition of hexagonal boron nitride on C-plane sapphire using B2H6 and NH3. Journal of Materials Research 36, 4678–4687 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1557/s43578-021-00446-5

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