Two-dimensional
(2D) hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) plays a significant role in nanoscale
electrical and optical devices because of its superior properties.
However, the difficulties in the controllable growth of high-quality
films hinder its applications. One of the crucial factors that influence
the quality of the films obtained via epitaxy is the substrate property.
Here, we report a study of 2D h-BN growth on carburized Ni substrates
using molecular beam epitaxy. It was found that the carburization
of Ni substrates with different surface orientations leads to different
kinetics of h-BN growth. While the carburization of Ni(100) enhances
the h-BN growth, the speed of the h-BN growth on carburized Ni(111)
reduces. As-grown continuous single-layer h-BN films are used to fabricate
Ni/h-BN/Ni metal–insulator–metal (MIM) devices, which
demonstrate a high breakdown electric field of 12.9 MV/cm.