A mini review on chemical vapor deposition growth of wafer-scale h-BN single crystals

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), with its excellent stability, flat surface and large bandgap, plays a role in a variety of fundamental science and technology fields. The past few years have witnessed significant development in the scaled growth of h-BN single crystals. Currently, the size of h-BN crystal can be reached up to wafer-scale, paving the way towards industrial production and commercial applications. In this minireview, recent academic breakthroughs regarding controlled growth of large-sized h-BN single crystals via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) are present. The as-developed technique in terms of growth parameters, choice of catalysts and mechanism is fully emphasized, offering a guideline in enhancing size and quality of h-BN. Several typical metal catalysts are exhibited in shaping scaled h-BN single crystals, of which the metal Cu substrate has drawn the most intensive attentions. The great advances in expanding size of h-BN single crystals will largely push forward the way to h-BN industrialization and commercialization.