Dielectric strength, optical absorption, and deep ultraviolet detectors of hexagonal boron nitride epilayers

Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) epilayers have been synthesized by metal organic chemical vapor deposition and their dielectric strength, optical absorption, and potential as a deep ultraviolet (DUV) detector material have been studied. Based on the graphene optical absorption concept, the estimated band-edge absorption coefficient of hBN is about 7 × 10 ⁵/cm, which is more than 3 times higher than the value for wurtzite AlN (∼2 × 10 ⁵ /cm). The dielectric strength of hBN epilayers exceeds that of AlN and is greater than 4.4 MV/cm based on the measured result for an hBN epilayer released from the host sapphire substrate. The hBN epilayer based DUV detectors exhibit a sharp cut-off wavelength around 230 nm, which coincides with the band-edge photoluminescence emission peak and virtually no responses in the long wavelengths. Based on the present study, we have identified several advantageous features of hBN DUV photodetectors: (1) low long wavelength response or high DUV to visible rejection ratio; (2) requiring very thin active layers due to high optical absorption; (3) high dielectric strength and chemical inertness and resistance to oxidation and therefore suitable for applications in extreme conditions; (4) high prospects of achieving flexible devices; and (5) possible integration with graphene optoelectronics due to their similar structures and lattice constants.