Nanoscale homogeneity and degradation process of two dimensional atomically thin hexagonal boron nitride dielectric stacks

Abstract

In this paper we analyze the reliability of atomically thin hexagonal boron nitride (A-BN) dielectric stacks subjected to electrical stresses. The 2D insulating stacks are grown by chemical vapor deposition, meaning that (unlike exfoliated nanosheets) they can cover large areas and are suitable for the fabrication of scalable devices using photolithography tools. By comparing HfO2 and A-BN stacks with similar equivalent oxide thickness we find that the 2D dielectric shows a striking stable conduction when subjected to sequences of ramped voltage stresses, indicating that it is much more stable versus electrical-field-induced defects. These results point A-BN as superb dielectric for electronic devices.