{
  "abstract": "Here we report the growth of single crystalline ScB2, an ultrahigh-temperature ceramic, at ambient pressure in a laser-heated Optical Floating Zone via the travelling solvent method. Crystals have been grown from both Sc-rich (55-65 at% Sc) and B-rich self-flux (80-83 at% B) at growth rates in the range of 0.2-2 mm/hr. The structure of grown crystals is in good agreement with an AlB2-type layered hexagonal phase, space group P6/mmm, with lattice constants a = 3.1423(2) Å (resp. 3.1502(3) Å) and c = 3.5084(3) Å (resp. 3.5041(3) Å) for crystals grown under Sc-rich (resp. B-rich) conditions. Crystals natively grow along the in-plane [100] direction. Electron backscattered diffraction shows that Sc-flux growth results in boules with multiple domains containing Sc inclusions, with the domains highly aligned. In contrast, B-flux boules are single domain after the initial nucleation region. Rocking-curve measurements of B-flux crystals for the (h000) and (000l) reflections show single peaks, establishing that the crystals are free from grain boundaries; the asymmetry in the scattered-intensity tails suggests the presence of point defects. Surface X-ray photoemission spectroscopy shows that the electronic environment in B-flux crystals is superior to that of Sc-flux crystals and produces highly resolved binding-energy peaks for B 1s and Sc 2p. Work-function measurements for the (11-20) plane give a value of approximately 5 eV, consistent with the highly electrically conductive nature of ScB2. These results demonstrate the viable ambient-pressure growth of ScB2, establish it as a lattice-matched substrate candidate for Al-rich AlGaN power microelectronics, and show that this growth route enables scalable manufacturing of ScB2 substrates.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2609.36493",
  "author_total": 22,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Satya K. Kushwaha"
    },
    {
      "name": "Ahamed Raihan"
    },
    {
      "name": "Astrid D. Kengne"
    },
    {
      "name": "Daniel Joel Harrison"
    },
    {
      "name": "R. Shipra"
    },
    {
      "name": "Han Xie"
    },
    {
      "name": "Evan N. Crites"
    },
    {
      "name": "Allana G. Iwanicki"
    },
    {
      "name": "Luke J. Meiler"
    },
    {
      "name": "Sharad Mahatara"
    },
    {
      "name": "Maxime A. Siegler"
    },
    {
      "name": "Renae N. Gannon"
    },
    {
      "name": "Steven R. Spurgeon"
    },
    {
      "name": "Rajeswari Kolagani"
    },
    {
      "name": "Amitayush Jhu Thakur"
    },
    {
      "name": "Stephan Lany"
    },
    {
      "name": "Patrick E. Hopkins"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jessica L. McChesney"
    },
    {
      "name": "Nancy Haegel"
    },
    {
      "name": "Tyrel M. McQueen"
    },
    {
      "name": "Michael G. Spencer"
    },
    {
      "name": "MVS Chandrashekhar"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3enjvdtec6s3q.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2609.36493",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "3enjvdtec6s3q",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.36493",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "LicenseRef-arXiv-nonexclusive-1.0",
  "licence_label": "arXiv licence",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "cond-mat.mtrl-sci"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "3104|GaN-based semiconductor devices and materials"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7214943256",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2609.36493",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-29",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3enjvdtec6s3q.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:25:31Z",
      "native_id": "2609.36493",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.36493"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:cond-mat.mtrl-sci",
      "subfield": "condensed-matter"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Enabling the Ambient Pressure Growth of ScB2 Crystals for AlGaN Power Electronics",
  "title_text": "Enabling the Ambient Pressure Growth of ScB2 Crystals for AlGaN Power Electronics",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:25:31Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3enjvdtec6s3q",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}