Properties of intrinsic point defects and dimers in hexagonal boron nitride

Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) is a wide gap 2D layered material with good insulating properties. Intrinsic point defects in hBN play an important role in its applications as a dielectric in 2D electronic devices. However, the electronic properties of these defects are still poorly understood. We have calculated the structure and properties of a wide range of intrinsic point defects in the bulk of hBN using hybrid density functional theory (DFT). These include vacancies and interstitial states of B and N as well as di- and tri-vacancies. For each isolated defect, multiple charge states are calculated, and for each charge state multiple spin states are investigated. Positions of defect charge transition levels in the band gap of hBN are calculated. In particular, we predict that B vacancies are likely to be negatively charged in contact with graphene and other metals. Calculations of the interaction between vacancies predict that divacancies in both B and N sublattices are strongly binding. Moreover, the interaction of single B and N vacancies in adjacent layers induces the creation of -N-N- and -B-B- molecular bridges, which greatly distort the local structure, leading to local bond weakening. These results provide further insight into the properties of defects which can be responsible for degradation of hBN based devices.