Anisotropic dielectric dispersions and thermal behaviors in highly textured BN thin films for heat self-dissipating electronics

Mainstream high-k gate materials, such as SiO2, Al2O3, and HfZrO2, are in demand for modern electronics. However, these dielectrics possess lower thermal conductivity, significantly limiting thermal dissipation in electronic devices. Herein, we propose the utilization of complementary metal-oxide semiconductor- (CMOS) compatible high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) for the mass production of highly textured hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) on (100)-, (110)-, and (111)-oriented SrTiO3 substrates. The as-prepared films exhibit distinct vertical alignments, as evidenced by HRTEM and FTIR analysis. Notably, the R value, ranging from 0.46 to 0.50, is associated with the stress in the film. Importantly, distinct anisotropies in thermal conductivity, dielectric constant, and optical band gap are observed. Furthermore, the values of thermal conductivity in these highly textured h-BN films are 4.5, 5.7, and 5.3 Wm−1K−1, which is almost three times larger than those of SiO2 (1.4 Wm−1K−1) and Al2O3 (1.35 Wm−1K−1), and even an order of magnitude larger than that of HfZrO2 (0.67 Wm−1K−1). The combination of excellent dielectric characteristics, favorable thermal conductivity, and superior stability over a broad temperature range makes this novel material outperform conventional dielectric gate materials in high-power electronics applications.