Synthesis and characterization of hexagonal boron nitride film as a dielectric layer for graphene devices

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is a promising material as a dielectric layer or substrate for two-dimensional electronic devices. In this work, we report the synthesis of large-area h-BN film using atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition on a copper foil, followed by Cu etching and transfer to a target substrate. The growth rate of h-BN film at a constant temperature is strongly affected by the concentration of borazine as a precursor and the ambient gas condition such as the ratio of hydrogen and nitrogen. h-BN films with different thicknesses can be achieved by controlling the growth time or tuning the growth conditions. Transmission electron microscope characterization reveals that these h-BN films are polycrystalline, and the c-axis of the crystallites points to different directions. The stoichiometry ratio of boron and nitrogen is close to 1:1, obtained by electron energy loss spectroscopy. The dielectric constant of h-BN film obtained by parallel capacitance measurements (25 μm ² large areas) is 2-4. These CVD-grown h-BN films were integrated as a dielectric layer in top-gated CVD graphene devices, and the mobility of the CVD graphene device (in the few thousands cm ²/ (V·s) range) remains the same before and after device integration.