  Dielectric breakdown has historically been of great interest from the
perspectives of fundamental physics and electrical reliability. However, to
date, the anisotropy in the dielectric breakdown has not been discussed. Here,
we report an anisotropic dielectric breakdown strength (EBD) for h-BN, which is
used as an ideal substrate for two-dimensional (2D) material devices. Under a
well-controlled relative humidity, EBD values in the directions both normal and
parallel to the c axis (EBD+c & EBD//c) were measured to be 3 and 12 MV/cm,
respectively. When the crystal structure is changed from sp3 of cubic-BN (c-BN)
to sp2 of h-BN, EBD+c for h-BN becomes smaller than that for c-BN, while EBD//c
for h-BN drastically increases. Therefore, h-BN can possess a relatively high
EBD concentrated only in the direction parallel to the c axis by conceding a
weak bonding direction in the highly anisotropic crystal structure. This
explains why the EBD//c for h-BN is higher than that for diamond. Moreover, the
presented EBD value obtained from the high quality bulk h-BN crystal can be
regarded as the standard for qualifying the crystallinity of h-BN layers grown
via chemical vapor deposition for future electronic applications.
