Boron nitride: A new photonic material

Rhombohedral boron nitride (r-BN) layers were grown on sapphire substrate in a hot-wall chemical vapor deposition reactor. Characterization of these layers is reported in details. X-ray diffraction (XRD) is used as a routine characterization tool to investigate the crystalline quality of the films and the identification of the phases is revealed using detailed pole figure measurements. Transmission electron microscopy reveals stacking of more than 40 atomic layers. Results from Fourier Transform InfraRed (FTIR) spectroscopy measurements are compared with XRD data showing that FTIR is not phase sensitive when various phases of sp2-BN are investigated. XRD measurements show a significant improvement of the crystalline quality when adding silicon to the gas mixture during the growth; this is further confirmed by cathodoluminescence which shows a decrease of the defects related luminescence intensity.