Kinetics effect of hydrogen passivation on the zigzag edge growth of h-BN

Abstract

Edge kinetics in 2D structures has been a key to understanding the growth. In this paper, the effect of hydrogen passivation on the growth of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) was studied. Without hydrogen, the filling process of the gap on bare edges of h-BN is difficult because of the formation of dimers that distorts the edge. With hydrogen passivation, such difficulty can be largely reduced. In addition, hydrogen passivation can reduce the edge bending to the substrate. In summary, the amount of hydrogen passivation during the growth is the long-ignored parameter and can be the key to a good crystal quality.