Cubic boron nitride as a material for future electron device applications: A comparative analysis

Drawing upon a collection of electron transport results, coupled with a variety of other material parameters, we set expectations on the upper limits to device performance of zinc blende boron-nitride-based electron devices. We examine how the device performance varies with the device length-scale, noting that a diversity of physical regimes are experienced as the device length-scale reduces from that corresponding to a long electron device, i.e., 100 μm, to the sub-micron level. Results corresponding to zinc blende boron nitride are contrasted with those associated with germanium, silicon, gallium arsenide, the 4H-phase of silicon carbide, wurtzite gallium nitride, and diamond. The electron device performance metrics that we focus upon for the purposes of this analysis include the effective mobility, accounting for the transition between the ballistic and the collision-dominated electron transport regimes, and the cutoff frequency.

[1]  Chang Liu,et al.  Semiconductor nanochannels in metallic carbon nanotubes by thermomechanical chirality alteration , 2021, Science.

[2]  M. Shur,et al.  Plasmonic Field-Effect Transistors (TeraFETs) for 6G Communications , 2021, Sensors.

[3]  J. L. Lyons,et al.  Prospects for n-type conductivity in cubic boron nitride , 2021, Applied Physics Letters.

[4]  E. Kioupakis,et al.  Phonon- and defect-limited electron and hole mobility of diamond and cubic boron nitride: A critical comparison , 2021, Applied Physics Letters.

[5]  M. Shur,et al.  Electron transport within bulk cubic boron nitride: A Monte Carlo simulation analysis , 2020 .

[6]  Wenjun Zhang,et al.  Cutting performance of cubic boron nitride-coated tools in dry turning of hardened ductile iron , 2020 .

[7]  O. H. Hughes,et al.  Semiconductor Physics , 1967, Nature.

[8]  T. Taniguchi,et al.  Mechanical Properties of Cubic‐BN(111) Bulk Single Crystal Evaluated by Nanoindentation , 2018 .

[9]  S. O’Leary,et al.  Electron transport within the wurtzite and zinc-blende phases of gallium nitride and indium nitride , 2018, Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics.

[10]  R. Nemanich,et al.  In situ photoelectron spectroscopic characterization of c-BN films deposited via plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition employing fluorine chemistry , 2015 .

[11]  M. Shur,et al.  A 2015 perspective on the nature of the steady-state and transient electron transport within the wurtzite phases of gallium nitride, aluminum nitride, indium nitride, and zinc oxide: a critical and retrospective review , 2015, Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics.

[12]  M. Shur,et al.  Steady-state and transient electron transport within the wide energy gap compound semiconductors gallium nitride and zinc oxide: an updated and critical review , 2014, Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics.

[13]  Shuang Wang,et al.  Direct coating of cubic boron nitride with titanium powder under high pressure and high temperature , 2014 .

[14]  Xingwang Zhang Doping and electrical properties of cubic boron nitride thin films: A critical review , 2013 .

[15]  C. Ziebert,et al.  Cubic boron nitride based metastable coatings and nanocomposites , 2009 .

[16]  T. Jenkins,et al.  Determination of the optical band-gap energy of cubic and hexagonal boron nitride using luminescence excitation spectroscopy , 2008 .

[17]  M. Shur,et al.  Steady-State and Transient Electron Transport Within the III–V Nitride Semiconductors, GaN, AlN, and InN: A Review , 2006 .

[18]  B. J. Baliga,et al.  Power semiconductor device figure of merit for high-frequency applications , 1989, IEEE Electron Device Letters.

[19]  Junzo Tanaka,et al.  Ultraviolet light‐emitting diode of a cubic boron nitride pn junction made at high pressure , 1988 .

[20]  B. J. Baliga,et al.  Semiconductors for high‐voltage, vertical channel field‐effect transistors , 1982 .

[21]  R. M. Chrenko Ultraviolet and infrared spectra of cubic boron nitride , 1974 .

[22]  W. Fawcett,et al.  Monte Carlo determination of electron transport properties in gallium arsenide , 1970 .