Boron nitride as two dimensional dielectric: Reliability and dielectric breakdown

Yanfeng Ji, Chengbin Pan, Meiyun Zhang, Shibing Long, Xiaojuan Lian, Feng Miao, Fei Hui, Yuanyuan Shi, Luca Larcher, Ernest Wu, Mario Lanza

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

104 Scopus citations

Abstract

Boron Nitride (BN) is a two dimensional insulator with excellent chemical, thermal, mechanical, and optical properties, which make it especially attractive for logic device applications. Nevertheless, its insulating properties and reliability as a dielectric material have never been analyzed in-depth. Here, we present the first thorough characterization of BN as dielectric film using nanoscale and device level experiments complementing with theoretical study. Our results reveal that BN is extremely stable against voltage stress, and it does not show the reliability problems related to conventional dielectrics like HfO2, such as charge trapping and detrapping, stress induced leakage current, and untimely dielectric breakdown. Moreover, we observe a unique layer-by-layer dielectric breakdown, both at the nanoscale and device level. These findings may be of interest for many materials scientists and could open a new pathway towards two dimensional logic device applications.
Original languageEnglish (US)
JournalApplied Physics Letters
Volume108
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 4 2016
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Physics and Astronomy (miscellaneous)

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