110 research outputs found
Exfoliation of single layer BiTeI flakes
Spin orbit interaction is strongly enhanced in structures where a heavy element is embedded in an inversion asymmetric crystal field. A simple way for realizing such a setup is to take a single atomic layer of a heavy element and encapsulate it between two atomic layers of different elemental composition. BiTeI is a promising candidate for such a 2D crystal. In its bulk form BiTeI consists of loosely coupled three atom thick layers where a layer of high atomic number Bi are sandwiched between Te and I sheets. Despite considerable recent attention to bulk BiTeI due to its giant Rashba spin splitting, the isolation of a single layer remained elusive. In this work we report the first successful isolation and characterization of a single layer of BiTeI using a novel exfoliation technique on stripped gold. Our scanning probe studies and first principles calculations show that the fabricated 100 mu m sized BiTeI flakes are stable at ambient conditions. Giant Rashba splitting and spin-momentum locking of this new 2D crystal opens the way towards novel spintronic applications and synthetic topological heterostructures
Screening and interlayer coupling in multilayer graphene field-effect transistors
With the motivation of improving the performance and reliability of
aggressively scaled nano-patterned graphene field-effect transistors, we
present the first systematic experimental study on charge and current
distribution in multilayer graphene field-effect transistors. We find a very
particular thickness dependence for Ion, Ioff, and the Ion/Ioff ratio, and
propose a resistor network model including screening and interlayer coupling to
explain the experimental findings. In particular, our model does not invoke
modification of the linear energy-band structure of graphene for the multilayer
case. Noise reduction in nano-scale few-layer graphene transistors is
experimentally demonstrated and can be understood within this model as well.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, 20 reference
Direct Imaging of Graphene Edges: Atomic Structure and Electronic Scattering
We report an atomically-resolved scanning tunneling microscopy (STM)
investigation of the edges of graphene grains synthesized on Cu foils by
chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Most of the edges are macroscopically parallel
to the zigzag directions of graphene lattice. These edges have microscopic
roughness that is found to also follow zigzag directions at atomic scale,
displaying many ~120 degree turns. A prominent standing wave pattern with
periodicity ~3a/4 (a being the graphene lattice constant) is observed near a
rare-occurring armchair-oriented edge. Observed features of this wave pattern
are consistent with the electronic intervalley backscattering predicted to
occur at armchair edges but not at zigzag edges
Facile Synthesis of High Quality Graphene Nanoribbons
Graphene nanoribbons have attracted attention for their novel electronic and
spin transport properties1-6, and because nanoribbons less than 10 nm wide have
a band gap that can be used to make field effect transistors. However,
producing nanoribbons of very high quality, or in high volumes, remains a
challenge. Here, we show that pristine few-layer nanoribbons can be produced by
unzipping mildly gas-phase oxidized multiwalled carbon nanotube using
mechanical sonication in an organic solvent. The nanoribbons exhibit very high
quality, with smooth edges (as seen by high-resolution transmission electron
microscopy), low ratios of disorder to graphitic Raman bands, and the highest
electrical conductance and mobility reported to date (up to 5e2/h and 1500
cm2/Vs for ribbons 10-20 nm in width). Further, at low temperature, the
nanoribbons exhibit phase coherent transport and Fabry-Perot interference,
suggesting minimal defects and edge roughness. The yield of nanoribbons was ~2%
of the starting raw nanotube soot material, which was significantly higher than
previous methods capable of producing high quality narrow nanoribbons1. The
relatively high yield synthesis of pristine graphene nanoribbons will make
these materials easily accessible for a wide range of fundamental and practical
applications.Comment: Nature Nanotechnology in pres
Rotation Symmetry Spontaneous Breaking of Edge States in Zigzag Carbon Nanotubes
Analytical solutions of the edge states were obtained for the (N, 0) type
carbon nanotubes with distorted ending bonds. It was found that the edge states
are mixed via the distortion. The total energies for N=5 and N>=7 are lower in
the asymmetric configurations of ending bonds than those having axial rotation
symmetry. Thereby the symmetry is breaking spontaneously. The results imply
that the symmetry of electronic states at the apex depends on the occupation;
the electron density pattern at the apex could change dramatically and could be
controlled by applying an external field.Comment: 19 pages, 3 figure
Snap-through instability of graphene on substrates
We determine the graphene morphology regulated by substrates with herringbone
and checkerboard surface corrugations. As the graphene/substrate interfacial
bonding energy and the substrate surface roughness vary, the graphene
morphology snaps between two distinct states: 1) closely conforming to the
substrate and 2) remaining nearly flat on the substrate. Such a snapthrough
instability of graphene can potentially lead to desirable electronic properties
to enable graphene-based devices.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures; Nanoscale Research Letters, in press, 200
Raman investigation of laser-induced structural defects of graphite oxide films
Since the beginning of intensive studies on graphene and graphitic materials, Raman spectroscopy has always been used as a characterisation technique. This is due to two main reasons: the non-destructive nature of this experimental technique and its ability to distinguish between the plethora of existing carbon materials. One of the most challenging research activities concerns the production of graphene microcircuits. To address this issue, a possible strategy is to directly reduce and pattern graphite oxide (GO) film by laser irradiation. The objective of this study is to evaluate the laser irradiation-induced structural changes on thin GO films by using Micro-Raman spectroscopy. We used as a source a Nd:YAG laser (1064 nm) and different laser fluences: 15 J/cm2, 7.5 J/cm2 and 5 J/cm2. We have analyzed the modifications of the main Raman contributions of these graphitic materials: the D band (defect induced band), the G band (band due to sp2 hybridized carbon atoms) and the 2D band (D band overtone). In particular, we found out that our figure of merit (FOM) parameters, i.e. the intensity ratio ID/IG (for the D band and G band) and I2D/IG (for the 2D band and G band), change with the laser fluences, revealing a different effect induced by the laser irradiation. The best results are found in the sample irradiated with 5 J/cm2, suggesting that higher fluences do not lead to better results
In-situ electronic characterization of graphene nanoconstrictions fabricated in a transmission electron microscope
We report electronic measurements on high-quality graphene nanoconstrictions
(GNCs) fabricated in a transmission electron microscope (TEM), and the first
measurements on GNC conductance with an accurate measurement of constriction
width down to 1 nm. To create the GNCs, freely-suspended graphene ribbons were
fabricated using few-layer graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition. The
ribbons were loaded into the TEM, and a current-annealing procedure was used to
clean the material and improve its electronic characteristics. The TEM beam was
then used to sculpt GNCs to a series of desired widths in the range 1 - 700 nm;
after each sculpting step, the sample was imaged by TEM and its electronic
properties measured in-situ. GNC conductance was found to be remarkably high,
comparable to that of exfoliated graphene samples of similar size. The GNC
conductance varied with width approximately as, where w is the constriction
width in nanometers. GNCs support current densities greater than 120 \muA/nm2,
two orders of magnitude higher than has been previously reported for graphene
nanoribbons and 2000 times higher than copper.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures. Accepted by Nano Letter
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