Direct observation of layer-stacking and oriented wrinkles in multilayer hexagonal boron nitride

LX Chen and K Elibol and HF Cai and CX Jiang and WH Shi and C Chen and HS Wang and XJ Wang and XJ Mu and C Li and K Watanabe and T Taniguchi and YF Guo and JC Meyer and HM Wang, 2D MATERIALS, 8, 024001 (2021).

DOI: 10.1088/2053-1583/abd41e

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) has long been recognized as an ideal substrate for electronic devices due to its dangling-bond-free surface, insulating nature and thermal/chemical stability. These properties of the h-BN multilayer are mainly determined by its lattice structure. Therefore, to analyse the lattice structure and orientation of h-BN crystals becomes important. Here, the stacking order and wrinkles of h-BN are investigated by transmission electron microscopy. It is experimentally confirmed that the layers in the h-BN flakes are arranged in the AA ' stacking. The wrinkles in a form of threefold network throughout the h-BN crystal are oriented along the armchair direction, and their formation mechanism was further explored by molecular dynamics simulations. Our findings provide a deep insight about the microstructure of h-BN and shed light on the structural design/electronic modulations of two-dimensional crystals.

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