Issue 12, 2023

High p doped and robust band structure in Mg-doped hexagonal boron nitride

Abstract

In two dimensional materials, substitutional doping during growth can be used to alter the electronic properties. Here, we report on the stable growth of p-type hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) using Mg-atoms as substitutional impurities in the h-BN honeycomb lattice. We use micro-Raman spectroscopy, angle-resolved photoemission measurements (nano-ARPES) and Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) to study the electronic properties of Mg-doped h-BN grown by solidification from a ternary Mg–B–N system. Besides the observation of a new Raman line at ∼1347 cm−1 in Mg-doped h-BN, nano-ARPES reveals p-type carrier concentration. Our nano-ARPES experiments demonstrate that the Mg dopants can significantly alter the electronic properties of h-BN by shifting the valence band maximum about 150 meV toward higher binding energies with respect to pristine h-BN. We further show that, Mg doped h-BN exhibits a robust, almost unaltered, band structure compared to pristine h-BN, with no significant deformation. Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) confirms the p-type doping, with a reduced Fermi level difference between pristine and Mg-doped h-BN crystals. Our findings demonstrate that conventional semiconductor doping by Mg as substitutional impurities is a promising route to high-quality p-type doped h-BN films. Such stable p-type doping of large band h-BN is a key feature for 2D materials applications in deep ultra-violet light emitting diodes or wide bandgap optoelectronic devices.

Graphical abstract: High p doped and robust band structure in Mg-doped hexagonal boron nitride

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
24 Huk 2022
Accepted
05 Dzi 2023
First published
06 Dzi 2023
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Nanoscale Adv., 2023,5, 3225-3232

High p doped and robust band structure in Mg-doped hexagonal boron nitride

L. Khalil, C. Ernandes, J. Avila, A. Rousseau, P. Dudin, N. D. Zhigadlo, G. Cassabois, B. Gil, F. Oehler, J. Chaste and A. Ouerghi, Nanoscale Adv., 2023, 5, 3225 DOI: 10.1039/D2NA00843B

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