Suchergebnisse

Boron nitride (BN) as a thin film is promising for many future electronic applications. On 0001 alpha-Al2O3 and 0001 4H/6H-SiC substrates, chemical vapor deposition yields epitaxial sp(2)-hybridized BN (sp(2)-BN) films oriented around the c-axis. Here, the authors seek to point out that sp(2)-BN can form two different polytypes; hexagonal BN (h-BN) and rhombohedral BN (r-BN), only differing in the stacking of the basal planes but with the identical distance between the basal planes and in-plane lattice parameters. This makes structural identification challenging in c- axis oriented films. The authors suggest the use of a combination of high-resolution electron microscopy with careful sample preparation and thin film x-ray diffraction techniques like pole figure measurements and glancing incidence (in-plane) diffraction to fully distinguish h-BN from r-BN. (C) 2018 Author(s). All article content, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. ; Funding Agencies|Swedish Research Council (VR) [621-2013-5585]; Carl Tryggers Stiftelse [12:175]; Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research [SSF IS-14-0024]; Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoping University [SFO-Mat-LiU 2009-00971]

Knowledge of the structural evolution of thin films, starting by the initial stages of growth, is important to control the quality and properties of the film. The authors present a study on the initial stages of growth and the temperature influence on the structural evolution of sp(2) hybridized boron nitride (BN) thin films during chemical vapor deposition (CVD) with triethyl boron and ammonia as precursors. Nucleation of hexagonal BN (h-BN) occurs at 1200 degrees C on alpha-Al2O3 with an AlN buffer layer (AlN/alpha-Al2O3). At 1500 degrees C, h-BN grows with a layer-by-layer growth mode on AlN/alpha-Al2O3 up to similar to 4 nm after which the film structure changes to rhombohedral BN (r-BN). Then, r-BN growth proceeds with a mixed layer-by-layer and island growth mode. h-BN does not grow on 6H-SiC substrates; instead, r-BN nucleates and grows directly with a mixed layer-by-layer and island growth mode. These differences may be caused by differences in substrate surface temperature due to different thermal conductivities of the substrate materials. These results add to the understanding of the growth process of sp(2)-BN employing CVD. (C) 2015 American Vacuum Society. ; Funding Agencies|Swedish Research Council (VR) [621-2013-5585]; Carl Tryggers Stiftelse [12:175]; CeNano Program at Linkoping University; Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoping University [SFO-Mat-LiU 2009-00971]; Bolyai Janos research scholarship of Hungarian Academy of Sciences