Hyperspectral microscopy of boron nitride nanolayers using hybrid femto/picosecond coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering.

Abstract

The rise in interest in two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials has been notable in recent years. In particular, hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), recognized as an optimal substrate for enhancing graphene properties, holds promise for electronic applications. However, the widely employed spontaneous Raman microscopy, a gold standard for graphene study, faces strong limitations in h-BN due to its large bandgap and low cross section. In this Letter, high-resolution femto/picosecond coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (fs/ps-CARS) spectroscopy is used for hyperspectral imaging of nanometric h-BN layers. Our study establishes that CARS signal effectively enhances Raman signature related to in-plane ring vibrations, thus providing valuable quantitative insights into sample thickness and crystalline quality, also corroborated by additional AFM measurements.