Mitigation of delamination of epitaxial large-area boron nitride for semiconductor processing

• Epitaxial boron nitride films delaminate during wet chemical processing. • Microscopic wrinkles vanish after delamination. • The method applies to BN films from ∼10 to >100 nm thick. • Suitable for optoelectronic and neutron detection applications. • Wet delamination process enables successful litography on BN epitaxial films. Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) is a promising material for semiconductor and optoelectronic devices due to its wide bandgap and remarkable optical properties. To apply this material in the semiconductor industry, it is necessary to grow large-area layers on the wafer-scale. For this purpose, chemical vapor deposition methods are highly preferable. However, in the case of epitaxial BN, its fragility and susceptibility to delamination and fold formation during wet processing, such as lithography, present significant challenges to its integration into device fabrication. In this work, we introduce a controlled delamination and transfer method that effectively prevents the layer from degradation, allowing for multi-step lithographic processes. This approach is applicable to BN layers across a broad thickness range, from tens to hundreds of nanometers, and ensures compatibility with standard photolithographic techniques without compromising the material’s intrinsic properties. By addressing key processing challenges, this method paves the way for integrating epitaxial BN into advanced semiconductor and optoelectronic technologies.