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Formation of hexagonal boron nitride on graphene-covered copper surfaces

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 March 2016

Devashish P. Gopalan ,
Patrick C. Mende ,
Sergio C. de la Barrera ,
Shonali Dhingra ,
Jun Li ,
Kehao Zhang ,
Nicholas A. Simonson ,
Joshua A. Robinson ,
Ning Lu  and
Qingxiao Wang
...Show all authors
Devashish P. Gopalan
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA
Patrick C. Mende
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA
Sergio C. de la Barrera
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA
Shonali Dhingra
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, USA
Jun Li
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA
Kehao Zhang
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Center for Two-Dimensional and Layered Materials, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
Nicholas A. Simonson
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Center for Two-Dimensional and Layered Materials, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
Joshua A. Robinson
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Center for Two-Dimensional and Layered Materials, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
Ning Lu
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75080, USA
Qingxiao Wang
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75080, USA
Moon J. Kim
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75080, USA
Brian D'Urso
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, USA
Randall M. Feenstra*
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA
*
a) Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: feenstra@cmu.edu
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Abstract

Graphene-covered copper surfaces have been exposed to borazine, (BH)3(NH)3, with the resulting surfaces characterized by low-energy electron microscopy. Although the intent of the experiment was to form hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) on top of the graphene, such layers were not obtained. Rather, in isolated surface areas, h-BN is found to form μm-size islands that substitute for the graphene. Additionally, over nearly the entire surface, the properties of the layer that was originally graphene is observed to change in a manner that is consistent with the formation of a mixed h-BN/graphene alloy, i.e., h-BNC alloy. Furthermore, following the deposition of the borazine, a small fraction of the surface is found to consist of bare copper, indicating etching of the overlying graphene. The inability to form h-BN layers on top of graphene is discussed in terms of the catalytic behavior of the underlying copper surface and the decomposition of the borazine on top of the graphene.

Keywords

epitaxysemiconductingelectronic material
Type
Invited Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 31 , Issue 7: Focus Issue: Two-Dimensional Heterostructure Materials , 14 April 2016 , pp. 945 - 958
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2016 

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