98 research outputs found
Adhesion, Stiffness and Instability in Atomically Thin MoS2 Bubbles
We measured the work of separation of single and few-layer MoS2 membranes
from a SiOx substrate using a mechanical blister test, and found a value of 220
+- 35 mJ/m^2. Our measurements were also used to determine the 2D Young's
modulus of a single MoS2 layer to be 160 +- 40 N/m. We then studied the
delamination mechanics of pressurized MoS2 bubles, demonstrating both stable
and unstable transitions between the bubbles' laminated and delaminated states
as the bubbles were inflated. When they were deflated, we observed edge pinning
and a snap-in transition which are not accounted for by the previously reported
models. We attribute this result to adhesion hysteresis and use our results to
estimate the work of adhesion of our membranes to be 42 +- 20 mJ/m^2
Adhesion of 2D MoS to Graphite and Metal Substrates Measured by a Blister Test
Using a blister test, we measured the work of separation between MoS
membranes from metal, semiconductor, and graphite substrates. We found a work
of separation ranging from 0.11 +- 0.05 J/m^2 for chromium to 0.39 +- 0.1 J/m^2
for graphite substrates. In addition, we measured the work of adhesion of
MoS membranes over these substrates and observed a dramatic difference
between the work of separation and adhesion which we attribute to adhesion
hysteresis. Due to the prominent role that adhesive forces play in the
fabrication and functionality of devices made from 2D materials, an
experimental determination of the work of separation and adhesion as provided
here will help guide their development
Monolayer MoS2 strained to 1.3% with a microelectromechanical system
We report on a modified transfer technique for atomically thin materials integrated onto microelectromechanical
systems (MEMS) for studying strain physics and creating strain-based devices. Our method tolerates the non-planar
structures and fragility of MEMS, while still providing precise positioning and crack free transfer of flakes. Further,
our method used the transfer polymer to anchor the 2D crystal to the MEMS, which reduces the fabrication time,
increases the yield, and allowed us to exploit the strong mechanical coupling between 2D crystal and polymer to
strain the atomically thin system. We successfully strained single atomic layers of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) with
MEMS devices for the first time and achieved greater than 1.3% strain, marking a major milestone for incorporating
2D materials with MEMS We used the established strain response of MoS2 Raman and Photoluminescence spectra to
deduce the strain in our crystals and provide a consistency check. We found good comparison between our experiment
and literature.Published versio
Voltage gated inter-cation selective ion channels from graphene nanopores
With the ability to selectively control ionic flux, biological protein ion
channels perform a fundamental role in many physiological processes. For
practical applications that require the functionality of a biological ion
channel, graphene provides a promising solid-state alternative, due to its
atomic thinness and mechanical strength. Here, we demonstrate that nanopores
introduced into graphene membranes, as large as 50 nm in diameter, exhibit
inter-cation selectivity with a ~20x preference for K+ over divalent cations
and can be modulated by an applied gate voltage. Liquid atomic force microscopy
of the graphene devices reveals surface nanobubbles near the pore to be
responsible for the observed selective behavior. Molecular dynamics simulations
indicate that translocation of ions across the pore likely occurs via a thin
water layer at the edge of the pore and the nanobubble. Our results demonstrate
a significant improvement in the inter-cation selectivity displayed by a
solid-state nanopore device and by utilizing the pores in a de-wetted state,
offers an approach to fabricating selective graphene membranes that does not
rely on the fabrication of sub-nm pores
Band Gap Engineering with Ultralarge Biaxial Strains in Suspended Monolayer MoS2
We demonstrate the continuous and reversible tuning of the optical band gap
of suspended monolayer MoS2 membranes by as much as 500 meV by applying very
large biaxial strains. By using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) to grow
crystals that are highly impermeable to gas, we are able to apply a pressure
difference across suspended membranes to induce biaxial strains. We observe the
effect of strain on the energy and intensity of the peaks in the
photoluminescence (PL) spectrum, and find a linear tuning rate of the optical
band gap of 99 meV/%. This method is then used to study the PL spectra of
bilayer and trilayer devices under strain, and to find the shift rates and
Gr\"uneisen parameters of two Raman modes in monolayer MoS2. Finally, we use
this result to show that we can apply biaxial strains as large as 5.6% across
micron sized areas, and report evidence for the strain tuning of higher level
optical transitions.Comment: Nano Lett., Article ASA
Transient thermal characterization of suspended monolayer MoS
We measure the thermal time constants of suspended single layer molybdenum
disulfide drums by their thermomechanical response to a high-frequency
modulated laser. From this measurement the thermal diffusivity of single layer
MoS is found to be 1.14 10 m/s on average. Using a
model for the thermal time constants and a model assuming continuum heat
transport, we extract thermal conductivities at room temperature between 10 to
40 W/(mK). Significant device-to-device variation in the thermal
diffusivity is observed. Based on statistical analysis we conclude that these
variations in thermal diffusivity are caused by microscopic defects that have a
large impact on phonon scattering, but do not affect the resonance frequency
and damping of the membrane's lowest eigenmode. By combining the experimental
thermal diffusivity with literature values of the thermal conductivity, a
method is presented to determine the specific heat of suspended 2D materials,
which is estimated to be 255 104 J/(kgK) for single layer MoS
Ultra-strong Adhesion of Graphene Membranes
As mechanical structures enter the nanoscale regime, the influence of van der
Waals forces increases. Graphene is attractive for nanomechanical systems
because its Young's modulus and strength are both intrinsically high, but the
mechanical behavior of graphene is also strongly influenced by the van der
Waals force. For example, this force clamps graphene samples to substrates, and
also holds together the individual graphene sheets in multilayer samples. Here
we use a pressurized blister test to directly measure the adhesion energy of
graphene sheets with a silicon oxide substrate. We find an adhesion energy of
0.45 \pm 0.02 J/m2 for monolayer graphene and 0.31 \pm 0.03 J/m2 for samples
containing 2-5 graphene sheets. These values are larger than the adhesion
energies measured in typical micromechanical structures and are comparable to
solid/liquid adhesion energies. We attribute this to the extreme flexibility of
graphene, which allows it to conform to the topography of even the smoothest
substrates, thus making its interaction with the substrate more liquid-like
than solid-like.Comment: to appear in Nature Nanotechnolog
Ultrathin Oxide Films by Atomic Layer Deposition on Graphene
In this paper, a method is presented to create and characterize mechanically
robust, free standing, ultrathin, oxide films with controlled, nanometer-scale
thickness using Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) on graphene. Aluminum oxide films
were deposited onto suspended graphene membranes using ALD. Subsequent etching
of the graphene left pure aluminum oxide films only a few atoms in thickness. A
pressurized blister test was used to determine that these ultrathin films have
a Young's modulus of 154 \pm 13 GPa. This Young's modulus is comparable to much
thicker alumina ALD films. This behavior indicates that these ultrathin
two-dimensional films have excellent mechanical integrity. The films are also
impermeable to standard gases suggesting they are pinhole-free. These
continuous ultrathin films are expected to enable new applications in fields
such as thin film coatings, membranes and flexible electronics.Comment: Nano Letters (just accepted
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