Enhanced emission from hBN in sputtered microcavities

In this observational study, we embed few-layer hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) inside a planar Fabry–Perot cavity fabricated using a pulsed DC magnetron sputtering system and show that the hBN retains its inherent visible range, defect-based luminescent properties following relatively energetic deposition processing. The observed surface-normal emission enhancement factor of ∼40 is in good agreement with theoretical predictions. We also found that embedded hBN subjected to a rapid thermal annealing treatment exhibits a cracking effect where the edges of the material glow distinctly brighter than adjacent regions. Our results might inform future efforts involving monolithic integration of hBN active layers.