Silicon-assisted growth of hexagonal boron nitride to improve oxidation resistance of germanium

Abstract Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is an exciting two dimensional dielectric due to its atomic flatness, free of dangling bonds, exceptional thermal and chemical stabilities. Here we report a method of silicon-assisted synthesis of monolayer h-BN on germanium (Ge) by chemical vapor deposition. The silicon atoms dissolve into Ge (110) and promote the growth of h-BN domains by formation of Si–N bonds. The oxidation dynamic shows that monolayer h-BN film is a high-performance passivation layer, preserving Ge from oxidation in air at high temperature. This work sheds lights on the outstanding oxidation resistance of h-BN for further Ge-based electronic devices.