Mechanical characterization and cleaning of CVD single-layer h-BN resonators

Abstract

Nanofabrication: optimized transfer enables hexagonal boron nitride mechanical resonators An improved transfer method allows easy placement of highly transparent and strongly adhesive hexagonal boron nitride on target substrates. A team led by Santiago J. Cartamil-Bueno at Delft University of Technology developed a technique that enables the transfer of large-area, single-layer hexagonal boron nitride films grown by chemical vapor deposition onto a substrate of choice, whilst not requiring optical visualization. Following an additional cleaning step, the atomically thin membranes were transferred onto circular microcavities patterned on a silicon oxide substrate, resulting in the formation of suspended drums. Cleaning in harsh environments using a mixture of air and ozone is instrumental to a substantial improvement in the quality factor of the drums, indicating that undesired contamination causes damping of the mechanical motion. These results show promise for the development of sensitive hexagonal boron nitride resonators.