Growth of boron nitride nano islands on substrates, triggered by internal stress

We have successfully fabricated nano islands of boron nitride directly on a substrate by triggering with internal stress. Boron nitride nano islands grew on the surface of films made from a boron nitride–copper complex synthesized by a cosputter method combined with heat treatment in a high vacuum. The properties of the islands such as size, shape and adhesion force were analyzed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) in a high vacuum. Topographical images of AFM showed that the islands size drastically changed as a function of the heat treatment temperature. This technique is a promising candidate for the fabrication of nano structures on large surface area of substrates.