Controlling Catalyst Bulk Reservoir Effects for Monolayer Hexagonal Boron Nitride CVD

Author(s)
Sabina Caneva, Robert S. Weatherup, Bernhard C. Bayer, Raoul Blume, Andrea Cabrero-Vilatela, Philipp Braeuninger-Weirner, Marie-Blandine Martin, Ruizhi Wang, Carsten Baehtz, Robert Schloegl, Jannik C. Meyer, Stephan Hofmann
Abstract

Highly controlled Fe-catalyzed growth of monolayer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) films is demonstrated by the dissolution of nitrogen into the catalyst bulk via NH3 exposure prior to the actual growth step. This "pre-filling" of the catalyst bulk reservoir allows us to control and limit the uptake of B and N species during borazine exposure and thereby to control the incubation time and h-BN growth kinetics while also limiting the contribution of uncontrolled precipitation-driven h-BN growth during cooling. Using in situ X-ray diffraction and in situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy combined with systematic growth calibrations, we develop an understanding and framework for engineering the catalyst bulk reservoir to optimize the growth process, which is also relevant to other 2D materials and their heterostructures.

Organisation(s)
Physics of Nanostructured Materials
External organisation(s)
University of Cambridge, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
Journal
Nano Letters: a journal dedicated to nanoscience and nanotechnology
Volume
16
Pages
1250-1261
No. of pages
12
ISSN
1530-6984
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b04586
Publication date
02-2016
Peer reviewed
Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
103015 Condensed matter, 103018 Materials physics
Keywords
ASJC Scopus subject areas
Condensed Matter Physics, Mechanical Engineering, Bioengineering, General Chemistry, General Materials Science
Portal url
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/4ffc4ef2-85af-45b7-bd24-e814967a2a7f