title: Large scale growth and characterization of atomic hexagonal boron nitride layers.
abstract: Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), a layered material similar to graphite, is a promising dielectric. Monolayer h-BN, so-called "white graphene", has been isolated from bulk BN and could be useful as a complementary two-dimensional dielectric substrate for graphene electronics. Here we report the large area synthesis of h-BN films consisting of two to five atomic layers, using chemical vapor deposition. These atomic films show a large optical energy band gap of 5.5 eV and are highly transparent over a broad wavelength range. The mechanical properties of the h-BN films, measured by nanoindentation, show 2D elastic modulus in the range of 200-500 N/m, which is corroborated by corresponding theoretical calculations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Lijie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ci
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Pavel B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Sorokin
authors.forename: Chuanhong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ni
authors.forename: Alexander G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Kvashnin
authors.forename: Dmitry G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Kvashnin
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lou
authors.forename: Boris I
authors.initials: BI
authors.lastname: Yakobson
authors.forename: Pulickel M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Ajayan