Effect of hydrogen etching on different carbon and boron nitride phases

The role of hydrogen species during the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) growth of BN films was studied by comparing the reactivities between different hydrogen species and two BN phases. For purposes of comparison, a corresponding study on two different carbon phases was also performed. Hexagonal and tetrahedral clusters of different sizes were used to mimic the sp² and sp³ BN phases. Results indicate that, instead of finding a selective sp² etching agent for BN phases, the successful CVD synthesis of single-phase BN films may be better achieved by promoting the formation of the sp³ phase.