Effect of surface nitridation on the epitaxial growth of few-layer sp2 BN

Boron Nitride is a promising 2D dielectric material for use in numerous electronic applications. In order to realize this potential, a process for producing atomically thin layers on microelectronics-compatible substrates is desirable. In this paper we describe an approach to epitaxially grow few-layer sp2 BN directly on an insulating substrate, using metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). We also elucidate the effect of sapphire surface nitridation on the growth characteristics. We compare the effect of nitridation on the growth rate, surface morphology and structure across a wide range of V/III ratios. Depending on the V/III ratio, two different growth modes were identified: at low V/III 3D island growth is dominant and at high V/III the growth transitions to a self-terminating mode. Under self-terminating growth a film thickness of 1.5 nm is typically achieved. Surface nitridation was found to improve nucleation, promoting self-terminating growth, and resulting in atomically smooth films. Reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) patterns reveal the epitaxial relationship between BN and sapphire to be [1-100]‖[11-20] and [0001]‖[0001]. Growth at low V/III ratios without surface nitridation produced films with large hexagonal holes, which could not be completely filled by extending the growth time. Through surface nitridation, these holes were eliminated, producing continuous smooth films.