Highly Thermal-Conductive Cubic Boron Arsenide: Single-Crystal Growth, Properties, and Future Thin-Film Epitaxy

Heat dissipation has become a critical challenge in modern electronics, driving the need for a revolution in thermal management strategies beyond traditional packaging materials, thermal interface materials, and heat sinks. Cubic boron arsenide (c-BAs) offers a promising solution, thanks to its combination of high thermal conductivity and high ambipolar mobility, making it highly suitable for applications in both electronic devices and thermal management. However, challenges remain, particularly in the large-scale synthesis of a high-quality material and the tuning of its physical properties. This Perspective reviews key research on c-BAs and discusses the future potential of van der Waals (vdW) epitaxy and remote epitaxy for preparing high-quality c-BAs thin-films. Based on superlattice area mismatch calculations, we predict some potential substrates for these epitaxy techniques. Three important design considerations for future vdW or remote epitaxy of c-BAs thin-films are identified: superlattice matching at the heterointerface, the kinetics of B and As adatoms, and the surface modification of vdW or vdW/3D substrates.