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arXiv · 1806.03892

Lateral heterostructures of hexagonal boron nitride and graphene: BCN alloy formation and microstructuring mechanism

Marin Petrović·Michael Horn-von Hoegen·Frank-J. Meyer zu Heringdorf
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Abstract

Integration of individual two-dimensional materials into heterostructures is a crucial step which enables development of new and technologically interesting functional systems of reduced dimensionality. Here, well-defined lateral heterostructures of hexagonal boron nitride and graphene are synthesized on Ir(111) by performing sequential chemical vapor deposition from borazine and ethylene in ultra-high vacuum. Low-energy electron microscopy (LEEM) and selected-area electron diffraction ({\mu}-LEED) show that the heterostructures do not consist only of hexagonal boron nitride (an insulator) and graphene (a conductor), but that also a 2D alloy made up of B, C, and N atoms (a semiconductor) is formed. Composition and spatial extension of the alloy can be tuned by controlling the parameters of the synthesis. A new method for in situ fabrication of micro and nanostructures based on decomposition of hexagonal boron nitride is experimentally demonstrated and modeled analytically, which establishes a new route for production of BCN and graphene elements of various shapes. In this way, atomically-thin conducting and semiconducting components can be fabricated, serving as a basis for manufacturing more complex devices.

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Marin Petrović, Michael Horn-von Hoegen, Frank-J. Meyer zu Heringdorf. 2018-06-11. Lateral heterostructures of hexagonal boron nitride and graphene: BCN alloy formation and microstructuring mechanism. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2018.06.057

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