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Wafer-scale single-crystal hexagonal boron nitride monolayers on Cu (111)

Author

Listed:
  • Tse-An Chen

    (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC))

  • Chih-Piao Chuu

    (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC))

  • Chien-Chih Tseng

    (National Chiao Tung University)

  • Chao-Kai Wen

    (National Chiao Tung University)

  • H.-S. Philip Wong

    (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC))

  • Shuangyuan Pan

    (Peking University)

  • Rongtan Li

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences
    University of Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Tzu-Ang Chao

    (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC)
    National Chiao Tung University)

  • Wei-Chen Chueh

    (National Chiao Tung University)

  • Yanfeng Zhang

    (Peking University)

  • Qiang Fu

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Boris I. Yakobson

    (Rice University
    Rice University
    Rice University)

  • Wen-Hao Chang

    (National Chiao Tung University
    National Chiao Tung University)

  • Lain-Jong Li

    (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC))

Abstract

Ultrathin two-dimensional (2D) semiconducting layered materials offer great potential for extending Moore’s law of the number of transistors in an integrated circuit1. One key challenge with 2D semiconductors is to avoid the formation of charge scattering and trap sites from adjacent dielectrics. An insulating van der Waals layer of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) provides an excellent interface dielectric, efficiently reducing charge scattering2,3. Recent studies have shown the growth of single-crystal hBN films on molten gold surfaces4 or bulk copper foils5. However, the use of molten gold is not favoured by industry, owing to its high cost, cross-contamination and potential issues of process control and scalability. Copper foils might be suitable for roll-to-roll processes, but are unlikely to be compatible with advanced microelectronic fabrication on wafers. Thus, a reliable way of growing single-crystal hBN films directly on wafers would contribute to the broad adoption of 2D layered materials in industry. Previous attempts to grow hBN monolayers on Cu (111) metals have failed to achieve mono-orientation, resulting in unwanted grain boundaries when the layers merge into films6,7. Growing single-crystal hBN on such high-symmetry surface planes as Cu (111)5,8 is widely believed to be impossible, even in theory. Nonetheless, here we report the successful epitaxial growth of single-crystal hBN monolayers on a Cu (111) thin film across a two-inch c-plane sapphire wafer. This surprising result is corroborated by our first-principles calculations, suggesting that the epitaxial growth is enhanced by lateral docking of hBN to Cu (111) steps, ensuring the mono-orientation of hBN monolayers. The obtained single-crystal hBN, incorporated as an interface layer between molybdenum disulfide and hafnium dioxide in a bottom-gate configuration, enhanced the electrical performance of transistors. This reliable approach to producing wafer-scale single-crystal hBN paves the way to future 2D electronics.

Suggested Citation

  • Tse-An Chen & Chih-Piao Chuu & Chien-Chih Tseng & Chao-Kai Wen & H.-S. Philip Wong & Shuangyuan Pan & Rongtan Li & Tzu-Ang Chao & Wei-Chen Chueh & Yanfeng Zhang & Qiang Fu & Boris I. Yakobson & Wen-Ha, 2020. "Wafer-scale single-crystal hexagonal boron nitride monolayers on Cu (111)," Nature, Nature, vol. 579(7798), pages 219-223, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:579:y:2020:i:7798:d:10.1038_s41586-020-2009-2
    DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2009-2
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Junzhu Li & Abdus Samad & Yue Yuan & Qingxiao Wang & Mohamed Nejib Hedhili & Mario Lanza & Udo Schwingenschlögl & Iwnetim Abate & Deji Akinwande & Zheng Liu & Bo Tian & Xixiang Zhang, 2024. "Single-crystal hBN Monolayers from Aligned Hexagonal Islands," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-8, December.
    2. Zheyi Lu & Yang Chen & Weiqi Dang & Lingan Kong & Quanyang Tao & Likuan Ma & Donglin Lu & Liting Liu & Wanying Li & Zhiwei Li & Xiao Liu & Yiliu Wang & Xidong Duan & Lei Liao & Yuan Liu, 2023. "Wafer-scale high-κ dielectrics for two-dimensional circuits via van der Waals integration," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-8, December.
    3. Yixuan Zhao & Yuqing Song & Zhaoning Hu & Wendong Wang & Zhenghua Chang & Yan Zhang & Qi Lu & Haotian Wu & Junhao Liao & Wentao Zou & Xin Gao & Kaicheng Jia & La Zhuo & Jingyi Hu & Qin Xie & Rui Zhang, 2022. "Large-area transfer of two-dimensional materials free of cracks, contamination and wrinkles via controllable conformal contact," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.
    4. Su-Beom Song & Sangho Yoon & So Young Kim & Sera Yang & Seung-Young Seo & Soonyoung Cha & Hyeon-Woo Jeong & Kenji Watanabe & Takashi Taniguchi & Gil-Ho Lee & Jun Sung Kim & Moon-Ho Jo & Jonghwan Kim, 2021. "Deep-ultraviolet electroluminescence and photocurrent generation in graphene/hBN/graphene heterostructures," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-9, December.
    5. Peiming Zheng & Wenya Wei & Zhihua Liang & Biao Qin & Jinpeng Tian & Jinhuan Wang & Ruixi Qiao & Yunlong Ren & Junting Chen & Chen Huang & Xu Zhou & Guangyu Zhang & Zhilie Tang & Dapeng Yu & Feng Ding, 2023. "Universal epitaxy of non-centrosymmetric two-dimensional single-crystal metal dichalcogenides," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-7, December.
    6. Yue Yuan & Jonas Weber & Junzhu Li & Bo Tian & Yinchang Ma & Xixiang Zhang & Takashi Taniguchi & Kenji Watanabe & Mario Lanza, 2024. "On the quality of commercial chemical vapour deposited hexagonal boron nitride," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12, December.
    7. Ramaraj Sukanya & Tara N. Barwa & Yiran Luo & Eithne Dempsey & Carmel B. Breslin, 2022. "Emerging Layered Materials and Their Applications in the Corrosion Protection of Metals and Alloys," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-28, March.
    8. Fankai Zeng & Ran Wang & Wenya Wei & Zuo Feng & Quanlin Guo & Yunlong Ren & Guoliang Cui & Dingxin Zou & Zhensheng Zhang & Song Liu & Kehai Liu & Ying Fu & Jinzong Kou & Li Wang & Xu Zhou & Zhilie Tan, 2023. "Stamped production of single-crystal hexagonal boron nitride monolayers on various insulating substrates," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-7, December.

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