Premium
Catalyst‐Selective Growth of Single‐Orientation Hexagonal Boron Nitride toward High‐Performance Atomically Thin Electric Barriers
Author(s) -
Wang Shengnan,
Dearle Alice E.,
Maruyama Mina,
Ogawa Yui,
Okada Susumu,
Hibino Hiroki,
Taniyasu Yoshitaka
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
advanced materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.707
H-Index - 527
eISSN - 1521-4095
pISSN - 0935-9648
DOI - 10.1002/adma.201900880
Subject(s) - materials science , van der waals force , substrate (aquarium) , janus , single crystal , density functional theory , nanotechnology , condensed matter physics , chemical physics , crystallography , computational chemistry , molecule , chemistry , oceanography , physics , organic chemistry , geology
Abstract The ability to control the crystal orientation of 2D van der Waals (vdW) layered materials grown on large‐scale substrates is crucial for tailoring their electrical properties, as well as for integration of functional 2D devices. In general, multiple orientations, i.e., two or four orientations, appear through the crystal rotational symmetry matching between the material and its substrate. Here, it is reported that hexagonal boron nitride (h‐BN), an ideal electric barrier in the family of 2D materials, has a single orientation on inclined Cu (1 0 1) surfaces, where the Cu planes are tilted from the (1 0 1) facet around specific in‐plane axes. Density functional theory (DFT) calculation indicates that this is a manifestation of only one favored h‐BN orientation with the minimum vdW energy on the inclined Cu (1 0 1) surface. Moreover, thanks to the high interfacial strength with the underlying Cu, the single‐orientation h‐BN is free of thermal wrinkles, and exhibits a spatially homogeneous morphology and tunnel conductance. The findings point to a feasible approach to direct growth of single‐orientation, wrinkle‐free h‐BN thin film for high‐performance 2D electrical devices, and will be of benefit for controllable synthesis of other vdW materials.